Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Cortisol

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Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS); Multiple Sclerosis (MS); Huntington's disease (HD); MachadoJoseph disease; Amyloid Polyneuropathy Family are characterized by a progressive loss of anatomically or physiologically related neuronal systems (cognitive function, dementia, and problems with movements). With extended life expectancy worldwide, patients suffering from these pathologies will increase in the coming years. Nowadays, symptomatic treatments exist, but there are currently no effective drugs to reverse or halt the progression of the diseases. Improving the early and predictive diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases is the paramount importance and enormous efforts are under way. Therefore, it is required a tool to aid physicians, epidemiologists, and scientists in the study of human diseases by confirming a diagnosis and tracking disease progression, which may help to identify specific therapeutic targets. So, development of biomarkers may measure disease risk, presence, and progression is one of the main goals and challenges in research in neurodegenerative diseases.