| 1. |
- Ashton, Nicholas J., et al.
(author)
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Differential roles of Aβ42/40, p-tau231 and p-tau217 for Alzheimer's trial selection and disease monitoring.
- 2022
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In: Nature medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-170X .- 1078-8956. ; 28:12, s. 2555-2562
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Blood biomarkers indicative of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology are altered in both preclinical and symptomatic stages of the disease. Distinctive biomarkers may be optimal for the identification of AD pathology or monitoring of disease progression. Blood biomarkers that correlate with changes in cognition and atrophy during the course of the disease could be used in clinical trials to identify successful interventions and thereby accelerate the development of efficient therapies. When disease-modifying treatments become approved for use, efficient blood-based biomarkers might also inform on treatment implementation and management in clinical practice. In the BioFINDER-1 cohort, plasma phosphorylated (p)-tau231 and amyloid-β42/40 ratio were more changed at lower thresholds of amyloid pathology. Longitudinally, however, only p-tau217 demonstrated marked amyloid-dependent changes over 4-6 years in both preclinical and symptomatic stages of the disease, with no such changes observed in p-tau231, p-tau181, amyloid-β42/40, glial acidic fibrillary protein or neurofilament light. Only longitudinal increases of p-tau217 were also associated with clinical deterioration and brain atrophy in preclinical AD. The selective longitudinal increase of p-tau217 and its associations with cognitive decline and atrophy was confirmed in an independent cohort (Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention). These findings support the differential association of plasma biomarkers with disease development and strongly highlight p-tau217 as a surrogate marker of disease progression in preclinical and prodromal AD, with impact for the development of new disease-modifying treatments.
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| 2. |
- Brum, Wagner S., et al.
(author)
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A blood-based biomarker workflow for optimal tau-PET referral in memory clinic settings.
- 2024
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In: Nature communications. - 2041-1723. ; 15:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Blood-based biomarkers for screening may guide tau positrion emissition tomography (PET) scan referrals to optimize prognostic evaluation in Alzheimer's disease. Plasma Aβ42/Aβ40, pTau181, pTau217, pTau231, NfL, and GFAP were measured along with tau-PET in memory clinic patients with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment or dementia, in the Swedish BioFINDER-2 study (n = 548) and in the TRIAD study (n = 179). For each plasma biomarker, cutoffs were determined for 90%, 95%, or 97.5% sensitivity to detect tau-PET-positivity. We calculated the percentage of patients below the cutoffs (who would not undergo tau-PET; "saved scans") and the tau-PET-positivity rate among participants above the cutoffs (who would undergo tau-PET; "positive predictive value"). Generally, plasma pTau217 performed best. At the 95% sensitivity cutoff in both cohorts, pTau217 resulted in avoiding nearly half tau-PET scans, with a tau-PET-positivity rate among those who would be referred for a scan around 70%. And although tau-PET was strongly associated with subsequent cognitive decline, in BioFINDER-2 it predicted cognitive decline only among individuals above the referral cutoff on plasma pTau217, supporting that this workflow could reduce prognostically uninformative tau-PET scans. In conclusion, plasma pTau217 may guide selection of patients for tau-PET, when accurate prognostic information is of clinical value.
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| 3. |
- Brum, Wagner S., et al.
(author)
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A two-step workflow based on plasma p-tau217 to screen for amyloid β positivity with further confirmatory testing only in uncertain cases
- 2023
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In: Nature Aging. - 2662-8465. ; 3:9, s. 1079-1090
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cost-effective strategies for identifying amyloid-beta (A beta) positivity in patients with cognitive impairment are urgently needed with recent approvals of anti-A beta immunotherapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Blood biomarkers can accurately detect AD pathology, but it is unclear whether their incorporation into a full diagnostic workflow can reduce the number of confirmatory cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or positron emission tomography (PET) tests needed while accurately classifying patients. We evaluated a two-step workflow for determining A beta-PET status in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from two independent memory clinic-based cohorts (n = 348). A blood-based model including plasma tau protein 217 (p-tau217), age and APOE epsilon 4 status was developed in BioFINDER-1 (area under the curve (AUC) = 89.3%) and validated in BioFINDER-2 (AUC = 94.3%). In step 1, the blood-based model was used to stratify the patients into low, intermediate or high risk of A beta-PET positivity. In step 2, we assumed referral only of intermediate-risk patients to CSF A beta 42/A beta 40 testing, whereas step 1 alone determined A beta-status for low-and high-risk groups. Depending on whether lenient, moderate or stringent thresholds were used in step 1, the two-step workflow overall accuracy for detecting A beta-PET status was 88.2%, 90.5% and 92.0%, respectively, while reducing the number of necessary CSF tests by 85.9%, 72.7% and 61.2%, respectively. In secondary analyses, an adapted version of the BioFINDER-1 model led to successful validation of the two-step workflow with a different plasma p-tau217 immunoassay in patients with cognitive impairment from the TRIAD cohort (n = 84). In conclusion, using a plasma p-tau217-based model for risk stratification of patients with MCI can substantially reduce the need for confirmatory testing while accurately classifying patients, offering a cost-effective strategy to detect AD in memory clinic settings.
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| 4. |
- Cullen, Nicholas C., et al.
(author)
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Test-retest variability of plasma biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease and its effects on clinical prediction models
- 2023
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In: Alzheimers & Dementia. - : Wiley. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279. ; 19:3, s. 797-806
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- INTRODUCTION The effect of random error on the performance of blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) must be determined before clinical implementation. METHODS We measured test-retest variability of plasma amyloid beta (A beta)42/A beta 40, neurofilament light (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and phosphorylated tau (p-tau)217 and simulated effects of this variability on biomarker performance when predicting either cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) A beta status or conversion to AD dementia in 399 non-demented participants with cognitive symptoms. RESULTS Clinical performance was highest when combining all biomarkers. Among single-biomarkers, p-tau217 performed best. Test-retest variability ranged from 4.1% (A beta 42/A beta 40) to 25% (GFAP). This variability reduced the performance of the biomarkers (approximate to Delta AUC [area under the curve] -1% to -4%) with the least effects on models with p-tau217. The percent of individuals with unstable predicted outcomes was lowest for the multi-biomarker combination (14%). DISCUSSION Clinical prediction models combining plasma biomarkers-particularly p-tau217-exhibit high performance and are less effected by random error. Individuals with unstable predicted outcomes ("gray zone") should be recommended for further tests.
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| 5. |
- Janelidze, Shorena, et al.
(author)
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CSF biomarkers of neuroinflammation and cerebrovascular dysfunction in early Alzheimer disease.
- 2018
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In: Neurology. - 1526-632X .- 0028-3878. ; 91:9, s. e867-e877
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To measure CSF levels of biomarkers reflecting microglia and astrocytes activation, neuroinflammation, and cerebrovascular changes and study their associations with the core biomarkers of Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology (β-amyloid [Aβ] and tau), structural imaging correlates, and clinical disease progression over time.The study included cognitively unimpaired elderly (n = 508), patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 256), and patients with AD dementia (n = 57) from the longitudinal Swedish BioFINDER cohort. CSF samples were analyzed for YKL-40, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-15, IP-10, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), vascular adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), placental growth factor, and fms-related tyrosine kinase 1 (Flt-1). MRI data were available from 677 study participants. Longitudinal clinical assessments were conducted in control individuals and patients with MCI (mean follow-up 3 years, range 1-6 years).CSF levels of YKL-40, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, IL-15, and Flt-1 were increased during the preclinical, prodromal, and dementia stages of AD. High levels of these biomarkers were associated with increased CSF levels of total tau, with the associations, especially for YKL-40, being stronger in Aβ-positive individuals. The results were similar for associations between phosphorylated tau and YKL-40, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1. High levels of the biomarkers were also associated with cortical thinning (primarily in the precuneus and superior parietal regions) and with subsequent cognitive deterioration in patients without dementia as measured with Mini-Mental State Examination (YKL-40) and Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (YKL-40, ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and IL-15). Finally, higher levels of CSF YKL-40, ICAM-1, and Flt-1 increased risk of development of AD dementia in patients without dementia.Neuroinflammation and cerebrovascular dysfunction are early events occurring already at presymptomatic stages of AD and contribute to disease progression.
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| 6. |
- Janelidze, Shorena, et al.
(author)
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Detecting amyloid positivity in early Alzheimer's disease using combinations of plasma A beta 42/A beta 40 and p-tau
- 2022
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In: Alzheimers & Dementia. - : Wiley. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279. ; 18:2, s. 283-293
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: We studied usefulness of combining blood amyloid beta A(beta)42/A beta 40, phosphorylated tau (p-tau)217, and neurofilament light (NfL) to detect abnormal brain A beta deposition in different stages of early Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: Plasma biomarkers were measured using mass spectrometry (A beta 42/A beta 40) and immunoassays (p-tau217 and NfL) in cognitively unimpaired individuals (CU, N = 591) and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI, N = 304) from two independent cohorts (BioFINDER-1, BioFINDER-2). Results: In CU, a combination of plasma A beta 42/A beta 40 and p-tau217 detected abnormal brain A beta status with area under the curve (AUC) of 0.83 to 0.86. In MCI, the models including p-tau217 alone or A beta 42/A beta 40 and p-tau217 had similar AUCs (0.86-0.88); however, the latter showed improved model fit. The models were implemented in an online application providing individualized risk assessments (https://brainapps.shinyappas.io/PredictAAbplasma/). Discussion:A combination of plasma A beta 42/A beta 40 and p-tau217 discriminated A beta status with relatively high accuracy, whereas p-tau217 showed strongest associations with A beta pathology in MCI but not in CU.
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| 7. |
- Janelidze, Shorena, et al.
(author)
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Plasma beta-amyloid in Alzheimer's disease and vascular disease
- 2016
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Implementation of amyloid biomarkers in clinical practice would be accelerated if such biomarkers could be measured in blood. We analyzed plasma levels of A beta 42 and A beta 40 in a cohort of 719 individuals (the Swedish BioFINDER study), including patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia and cognitively healthy elderly, using a ultrasensitive immunoassay (Simoa platform). There were weak positive correlations between plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels for both A beta 42 and A beta 40, and negative correlations between plasma A beta 42 and neocortical amyloid deposition (measured with PET). Plasma levels of A beta 42 and A beta 40 were reduced in AD dementia compared with all other diagnostic groups. However, during the preclinical or prodromal AD stages (i.e. in amyloid positive controls, SCD and MCI) plasma concentration of A beta 42 was just moderately decreased whereas A beta 40 levels were unchanged. Higher plasma (but not CSF) levels of A beta were associated with white matter lesions, cerebral microbleeds, hypertension, diabetes and ischemic heart disease. In summary, plasma A beta is overtly decreased during the dementia stage of AD indicating that prominent changes in A beta metabolism occur later in the periphery compared to the brain. Further, increased levels of A beta in plasma are associated with vascular disease.
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| 8. |
- Janelidze, Shorena, et al.
(author)
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Plasma P-tau181 in Alzheimer's disease: relationship to other biomarkers, differential diagnosis, neuropathology and longitudinal progression to Alzheimer's dementia
- 2020
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In: Nature Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1078-8956 .- 1546-170X. ; 26, s. 379-386
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Plasma phosphorylated tau181 (P-tau181) might be increased in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but its usefulness for differential diagnosis and prognosis is unclear. We studied plasma P-tau181 in three cohorts, with a total of 589 individuals, including cognitively unimpaired participants and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), AD dementia and non-AD neurodegenerative diseases. Plasma P-tau181 was increased in preclinical AD and further increased at the MCI and dementia stages. It correlated with CSF P-tau181 and predicted positive Tau positron emission tomography (PET) scans (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.87-0.91 for different brain regions). Plasma P-tau181 differentiated AD dementia from non-AD neurodegenerative diseases with an accuracy similar to that of Tau PET and CSF P-tau181 (AUC = 0.94-0.98), and detected AD neuropathology in an autopsy-confirmed cohort. High plasma P-tau181 was associated with subsequent development of AD dementia in cognitively unimpaired and MCI subjects. In conclusion, plasma P-tau181 is a noninvasive diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of AD, which may be useful in clinical practice and trials. Plasma P-tau18 level increased with progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and differentiated AD dementia from other neurodegenerative diseases, supporting its further development as a blood-based biomarker for AD.
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| 9. |
- Karikari, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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Blood phosphorylated tau 181 as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease: a diagnostic performance and prediction modelling study using data from four prospective cohorts.
- 2020
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In: The Lancet. Neurology. - 1474-4465 .- 1474-4422. ; 19:5, s. 422-433
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- CSF and PET biomarkers of amyloid β and tau accurately detect Alzheimer's disease pathology, but the invasiveness, high cost, and poor availability of these detection methods restrict their widespread use as clinical diagnostic tools. CSF tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (p-tau181) is a highly specific biomarker for Alzheimer's disease pathology. We aimed to assess whether blood p-tau181 could be used as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease and for prediction of cognitive decline and hippocampal atrophy.We developed and validated an ultrasensitive blood immunoassay for p-tau181. Assay performance was evaluated in four clinic-based prospective cohorts. The discovery cohort comprised patients with Alzheimer's disease and age-matched controls. Two validation cohorts (TRIAD and BioFINDER-2) included cognitively unimpaired older adults (mean age 63-69 years), participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's disease, and frontotemporal dementia. In addition, TRIAD included healthy young adults (mean age 23 years) and BioFINDER-2 included patients with other neurodegenerative disorders. The primary care cohort, which recruited participants in Montreal, Canada, comprised control participants from the community without a diagnosis of a neurological condition and patients referred from primary care physicians of the Canadian National Health Service for specialist care. Concentrations of plasma p-tau181 were compared with established CSF and PET biomarkers and longitudinal measurements using Spearman correlation, area under the curve (AUC), and linear regression analyses.We studied 37 individuals in the discovery cohort, 226 in the first validation cohort (TRIAD), 763 in the second validation cohort (BioFINDER-2), and 105 in the primary care cohort (n=1131 individuals). In all cohorts, plasma p-tau181 showed gradual increases along the Alzheimer's disease continuum, from the lowest concentrations in amyloid β-negative young adults and cognitively unimpaired older adults, through higher concentrations in the amyloid β-positive cognitively unimpaired older adults and MCI groups, to the highest concentrations in the amyloid β-positive MCI and Alzheimer's disease groups (p<0·001, Alzheimer's disease vs all other groups). Plasma p-tau181 distinguished Alzheimer's disease dementia from amyloid β-negative young adults (AUC=99·40%) and cognitively unimpaired older adults (AUC=90·21-98·24% across cohorts), as well as other neurodegenerative disorders, including frontotemporal dementia (AUC=82·76-100% across cohorts), vascular dementia (AUC=92·13%), progressive supranuclear palsy or corticobasal syndrome (AUC=88·47%), and Parkinson's disease or multiple systems atrophy (AUC=81·90%). Plasma p-tau181 was associated with PET-measured cerebral tau (AUC=83·08-93·11% across cohorts) and amyloid β (AUC=76·14-88·09% across cohorts) pathologies, and 1-year cognitive decline (p=0·0015) and hippocampal atrophy (p=0·015). In the primary care cohort, plasma p-tau181 discriminated Alzheimer's disease from young adults (AUC=100%) and cognitively unimpaired older adults (AUC=84·44%), but not from MCI (AUC=55·00%).Blood p-tau181 can predict tau and amyloid β pathologies, differentiate Alzheimer's disease from other neurodegenerative disorders, and identify Alzheimer's disease across the clinical continuum. Blood p-tau181 could be used as a simple, accessible, and scalable test for screening and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer Drug Discovery Foundation, European Research Council, Swedish Research Council, Swedish Alzheimer Foundation, Swedish Dementia Foundation, Alzheimer Society Research Program.
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| 10. |
- Karlsson, Linda, et al.
(author)
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Cerebrospinal fluid reference proteins increase accuracy and interpretability of biomarkers for brain diseases.
- 2024
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In: Nature communications. - 2041-1723. ; 15:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers reflect brain pathophysiology and are used extensively in translational research as well as in clinical practice for diagnosis of neurological diseases, e.g., Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, CSF biomarker concentrations may be influenced by non-disease related inter-individual variability. Here we use a data-driven approach to demonstrate the existence of inter-individual variability in mean standardized CSF protein levels. We show that these non-disease related differences cause many commonly reported CSF biomarkers to be highly correlated, thereby producing misleading results if not accounted for. To adjust for this inter-individual variability, we identified and evaluated high-performing reference proteins which improved the diagnostic accuracy of key CSF AD biomarkers. Our reference protein method attenuates the risk for false positive findings, and improves the sensitivity and specificity of CSF biomarkers, with broad implications for both research and clinical practice.
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