Anna Villar-Piqué

Dr. Anna Villar-Piqué

Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

7Years (2020-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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12 February 2020 in Biomolecules
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Franc LlorensFranc Llorens
Franc Llorens
AVAnna Villar-Piqué
Anna Villar-Piqué
PHPeter Hermann
Peter Hermann
MSMatthias Schmitz
Matthias Schmitz
OCOLGA CALERO
OLGA CALERO
Inga ZerrInga Zerr
Inga Zerr
Human prion diseases are classified into sporadic, genetic, and acquired forms. Within this last group, iatrogenic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (iCJD) is caused by human-to-human transmission through surgical and medical procedures. After reaching an incidence peak in the 1990s, it is believed that the iCJD historical period is probably coming to an end, thanks to lessons learnt from past infection sources that promoted new prion prevention and decontamination protocols. At this point, we sought to characterise the biomarker profile of iCJD and compare it to that of sporadic CJD (sCJD) for determining the value of available diagnostic tools in promptly recognising iCJD cases. To that end, we collected 23 iCJD samples from seven national CJD surveillance centres and analysed the electroencephalogram and neuroimaging data together with a panel of seven CSF biomarkers: 14-3-3, total tau, phosphorylated/total tau ratio, alpha-synuclein, neurofilament light, YKL-40, and real-time quaking induced conversion of prion protein. Using the cut-off values established for sCJD, we found the sensitivities of these biomarkers for iCJD to be similar to those described for sCJD. Given the limited relevant information on this issue to date, the present study validates the use of current sCJD biomarkers for the diagnosis of future iCJD cases.