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Thanks to Paweł Czerwiński for sharing their work on Unsplash.
Plasma p-Tau217 Set to Transform Alzheimer’s Diagnostics
Suddenly, phospho-tau217 looks to be the most robust plasma biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease yet. That’s the general—and enthusiastic—consensus from two papers and several presentations at this year’s virtual Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, being held July 27 to 31.
- Plasma p-tau217 was measured in several cohorts by two types of test.
- It differentiates AD from controls and from related diseases.
- It outperforms plasma p-tau181, neurofilament light, and imaging markers.
In one study, the marker identified people with the highest likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease, as judged by neuropathology of plaques and tangles, with an AUC or 0.98, i.e., almost 100 percent accuracy. Postmortem neuropathology remains the gold standard for AD diagnosis. In differential diagnosis, plasma p-tau217 also distinguished AD from other neurodegenerative diseases, notably including tauopathies, with high accuracy, beating out other plasma markers including neurofilament light and p-tau181.
“I am tremendously excited about the potential for plasma p-tau217 to advance research, drug development, and care,” Eric Reiman, Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, Phoenix, told Alzforum. Reiman was a senior author on one of the studies, which was led by Oskar Hansson, Lund University, Sweden.
Read this article in full on the Alz Forum website – https://www.alzforum.org/news/conference-coverage/plasma-p-tau217-set-transform-alzheimers-diagnostics
Dementia Researcher
