Biomarkers

It has been documented, 25-33% of individuals clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer's syndrome, commonly referred to as the Alzheimer's phenotype, do not exhibit amyloid plaques in the brain upon autopsy. While non-Alzheimer pathologies are suspected to contribute to misdiagnosis and cognitive decline observed in these patients, pathological distinctions between amyloid-positive (Aβ+) and amyloid-negative (Aβ-) individuals remain poorly understood. Further investigation into these differences using blood-based biomarkers may provide valuable insights into the underlying pathophysiology of the amyloid-negative subgroup. Our objective was to compare blood-based biomarkers between Aβ- and Aβ+ subgroups diagnosed with clinical Alzheimer's syndrome.

Participants were recruited from the screening phase of clinical trials investigating anti-amyloid agents. A retrospective chart review was conducted to collect demographic, clinical, imaging, biomarker, and neuropsychological data. Amyloid-beta (Aβ) status was assessed through cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis using the Roche-Elecsys β-Amyloid (1-42) CSF II assay or positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Plasma samples were analyzed on the Quanterix Simoa HD-X platform, employing neurology-4-plex-E, p-tau-181, p-tau-217, and TDP-43 assays. Statistical analyses were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables and Fisher's exact test for categorical variables to compare group differences.

Of n = 45 patients, n = 25 (56%) were classified as Aβ+, and n = 20 (44%) were classified as Aβ-. No significant differences were found between groups in terms of age, sex, duration of illness or cognitive presentation. Groupwise analysis revealed significantly elevated concentrations of phosphorylated tau (p-tau) proteoforms in the Aβ+ group, including p-tau 181 (4.32 vs 2.93 pg/mL, p = 0.0058) and p-tau 217 (1.36 vs 0.46 pg/mL, p <0.0001), as well as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) (223 vs 123 pg/mL, p = 0.0265) and neurofilament light chain (NfL) (31.8 vs 19.1 pg/mL, p = 0.0068), relative to the Aβ- group. Although no significant differences were observed for Aβ42/40 (0.0548 vs 0.0567 pg/mL, p = 0.1466) or TDP-43 (2219 vs 359 pg/mL, p = 0.0607), the Aβ- group exhibited markedly higher TDP-43 concentrations compared to the Aβ+ group.

These findings highlight distinct biomarker profiles between Aβ+ and Aβ- individuals, offering insights into the pathophysiology of clinical Alzheimer's syndrome.