Biomarkers

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Biomarker Discovery
• Alzheimer's Disease Research

Background:

• Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis relies on invasive and costly methods.
• There is a need for accurate and accessible biomarkers for AD detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of plasma p-tau217 for AD-related pathology.
• To determine the optimal cut-off for plasma p-tau217 to discriminate between AD and non-AD conditions.
• To assess the concordance of plasma p-tau217 with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid pathology.

Main Methods:

• 127 patients with AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and non-AD dementias were included.
• Plasma and CSF biomarkers including Aβ42, Aβ40, p-tau181, and p-tau217 were measured using the Lumipulse platform.
• Statistical analyses were performed to assess correlations and diagnostic accuracy (AUC).

Main Results:

• Plasma p-tau217 levels strongly correlated with CSF p-tau181 and amyloid pathology (Aβ42/Aβ40).
• Plasma p-tau217 demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy (AUC 0.919) in identifying amyloid pathology, comparable to CSF Aβ42/40.
• Established cut-offs for plasma p-tau217 achieved high sensitivity (94.7%) and specificity (93.9%) for AD diagnosis.

Conclusions:

• Plasma p-tau217 is a highly accurate biomarker for detecting AD-related pathology.
• This blood test can serve as a valuable tool for screening patients prior to lumbar puncture.
• The findings support the use of plasma p-tau217 in the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.