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Updated: Jan 7, 2026
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Dried Blood Spot Collection of Health Biomarkers to Maximize Participation in Population Studies
Published on: January 28, 2014
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Biomarkers
1University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
Alzheimer'S & Dementia : the Journal of the Alzheimer'S Association
|December 25, 2025
Summary
Plasma p-tau217 shows high accuracy for early Alzheimer's Disease (AD) detection in diverse populations. A specific cut-off effectively identifies AD pathology, potentially improving early diagnosis in underserved communities.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomarker Discovery
- Gerontology
Background:
- Plasma p-tau217 is a promising biomarker for early Alzheimer's Disease (AD) detection.
- It shows diagnostic accuracy comparable to amyloid PET and CSF tests.
- p-tau217 correlates with AD brain pathology and predicts cognitive decline.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the diagnostic accuracy of plasma p-tau217 in a multicultural cohort.
- To determine an optimal p-tau217 cut-off for AD detection.
- To assess the utility of cognitive challenge tests in enhancing AD diagnosis.
Main Methods:
- Evaluated 96 Hispanic/Latino and 56 Black/African American older adults.
- Utilized MRI, amyloid PET scans, and plasma p-tau217 testing.
- Performed logistic regression to differentiate cognitively unimpaired and mild cognitive impairment groups.
Main Results:
- p-tau217 demonstrated strong discriminative ability (AUC=0.89) compared to amyloid PET.
- A p-tau217 cut-off of 0.55 pg/ml achieved 85% sensitivity and 87% specificity.
- Cognitive challenge tests showed high accuracy (80% sensitivity, 91.7% specificity) in differentiating diagnostic groups.
Conclusions:
- The p-tau217 cut-off of 0.55 pg/ml effectively identifies AD pathology in a diverse population.
- Plasma p-tau217 offers a sensitive and specific biomarker for early AD detection.
- Cognitive challenge tests may augment diagnostic accuracy, aiding early detection in underserved populations.
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