Qiao WY, Guo QM, Li XH. Peripheral blood biomarkers and mild behavioral impairment in mild cognitive impairment: Clinical correlations and mechanistic insights. World J Psychiatry 2025; 15(9): 108910 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i9.108910]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Qing-Mei Guo, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 4655 University Road, Jinan 250355, Shandong Province, China. qmguo@sina.com
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Psychiatry. Sep 19, 2025; 15(9): 108910 Published online Sep 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i9.108910
Peripheral blood biomarkers and mild behavioral impairment in mild cognitive impairment: Clinical correlations and mechanistic insights
Wen-Yong Qiao, Qing-Mei Guo, Xu-Hao Li
Wen-Yong Qiao, Qing-Mei Guo, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355, Shandong Province, China
Xu-Hao Li, School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355, Shandong Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Qing-Mei Guo and Xu-Hao Li.
Author contributions: Qiao WY wrote the manuscript and revised the manuscript; Guo QM and Li XH designed the overall concept and outline of the manuscript, contributed equally to this article, and are the co-corresponding authors of this manuscript; All authors contributed to this paper and have approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Qing-Mei Guo, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 4655 University Road, Jinan 250355, Shandong Province, China. qmguo@sina.com
Received: April 27, 2025 Revised: June 22, 2025 Accepted: July 25, 2025 Published online: September 19, 2025 Processing time: 123 Days and 7.4 Hours
Abstract
In the context of global aging, mild behavioral impairment (MBI) is present in 48.9% of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MBI, a neurobehavioral syndrome in the elderly, is an independent risk factor for cognitive decline and is closely related to peripheral blood biomarkers associated with Alzheimer's disease, offering new diagnostic and interventional avenues for early MCI. To summarize evidence on peripheral blood biomarkers related to MBI and their underlying mechanisms involving neuroinflammation, tau pathology, and oxidative stress, a systematic review of studies published between 2015 and 2024 was conducted. MBI is closely associated with peripheral blood biomarker changes. Neuroinflammatory markers like glial fibrillary acidic protein and neurofilament light indicate astrocyte activation and neural circuit disruption, with glial fibrillary acidic protein levels correlating with impulse dyscontrol scores. Chitinase-3-like protein 1, a marker of blood-brain barrier integrity, exacerbates neuroinflammation and is linked to depressive symptoms and hippocampal atrophy. Elevated phosphorylated tau proteins in blood correlate with brain tau deposition, increasing the risk of MBI and impairing cognition. Oxidative stress markers damage neurons and disrupt neurotransmission, and concurrent alterations in malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase levels significantly elevate the risk of MBI. The correlation between MBI and biomarkers offers new diagnostic and interventional directions for early MCI. Future research should standardize MBI assessment, conduct longitudinal studies, explore biomarker-MBI relationships, investigate psychosocial impacts, and develop advanced detection methods.
Core Tip: Both mild cognitive impairment and healthy older adults have a higher prevalence of mild behavioral impairment, with changes in impulse control behavior being the most common. Mild behavioral impairment is not only an independent risk factor for cognitive decline but is also associated with peripheral biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
