This review addresses this novel scenario, presenting data indicating that S100B levels and/or distribution in the nervous tissue of patients and/or experimental models of different neural disorders, for which the protein is used as a biomarker, are directly related to the progress of the disease: acute brain injury (ischemic/hemorrhagic stroke, traumatic injury), neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis), congenital/perinatal disorders (Down syndrome, spinocerebellar ataxia-1), psychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, mood disorders), inflammatory bowel disease.
Elevated serum levels of S100B have proven useful as an indicator of brain-injury but have also been shown in patients diagnosed with psychiatric disorders.
The S100 beta transgenic mouse model offers one of the first opportunities to investigate the relation between overexpression of a human chromosome 21 gene product and abnormal behavior and brain function.