# Neurotrophin System Alterations Associated with Neurotoxicity Accompanied by Carotid Artery Diseases—A Systematic Review

## TL;DR

This review explores whether changes in the neurotrophin system are linked to neurotoxicity in carotid artery disease, but finds insufficient evidence to confirm their use as biomarkers.

## Contribution

The paper systematically reviews the potential role of the neurotrophin system as biomarkers in carotid artery disease for the first time.

## Key findings

- The neurotrophin system's role in carotid artery disease remains unconfirmed as a reliable biomarker.
- Current evidence is insufficient to establish neurotrophin elements as standard or exploratory biomarkers for CAD.
- Further research is needed to clarify the relationship between the neurotrophin system and CAD outcomes.

## Abstract

According to neuropsychiatric sequelae for cardiovascular pathology, carotid artery disease (CAD) represents a significant medical, social, and economic burden. Numerous efforts have been made to define reliable markers that can reflect the principal pathological event and the effect of employed therapeutic protocols, prognoses, and clinical outcomes of CAD. However, the potential role of the neurotrophin (NT) system has not yet been confirmed. This narrative review was conducted following a literature search of PubMed, which included all studies on NT system elements and CAD published over the last two decades, encompassing both animal and clinical investigations, regarding the potential use of NT system elements as biomarkers for neurotoxicity manifestations and therapeutic effectiveness in CAD. Still, the analysis presented in this review is not sufficient to reveal whether NT system elements can be considered as exploratory or standard biomarkers for the evaluation of CAD. Further research is essential to elucidate this dilemma.