| 1. |
- De Bastiani, Marco Antônio, et al.
(författare)
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Hippocampal GFAP-positive astrocyte responses to amyloid and tau pathologies.
- 2023
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Ingår i: Brain, behavior, and immunity. - : Elsevier BV. - 1090-2139 .- 0889-1591. ; 110, s. 175-184
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Alzheimer's disease clinical research, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) released/leaked into the cerebrospinal fluid and blood is widely measured and perceived as a biomarker of reactive astrogliosis. However, it was demonstrated that GFAP levels differ in individuals presenting with amyloid-β (Aβ) or tau pathologies. The molecular underpinnings behind this specificity are little explored. Here we investigated biomarker and transcriptomic associations of hippocampal GFAP-positive astrocytes with Aβ and tau pathologies in humans and mouse models.We studied 90 individuals with plasma GFAP, Aβ- and Tau-PET to investigate the association between biomarkers. Then, transcriptomic analysis in hippocampal GFAP-positive astrocytes isolated from mouse models presenting Aβ (PS2APP) or tau (P301S) pathologies was conducted to explore differentially expressed genes (DEGs), Gene Ontology terms, and protein-protein interaction networks associated with each phenotype.In humans, we found that plasma GFAP associates with Aβ but not tau pathology. Unveiling the unique nature of hippocampal GFAP-positive astrocytic responses to Aβ or tau pathologies, mouse transcriptomics showed scarce overlap of DEGs between the Aβ. and tau mouse models. While Aβ GFAP-positive astrocytes were overrepresented with DEGs associated with proteostasis and exocytosis-related processes, tau hippocampal GFAP-positive astrocytes presented greater abnormalities in functions related to DNA/RNA processing and cytoskeleton dynamics.Our results offer insights into Aβ- and tau-driven specific signatures in hippocampal GFAP-positive astrocytes. Characterizing how different underlying pathologies distinctly influence astrocyte responses is critical for the biological interpretation of astrocyte biomarkers and suggests the need to develop context-specific astrocyte targets to study AD.This study was supported by Instituto Serrapilheira, Alzheimer's Association, CAPES, CNPq and FAPERGS.
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| 2. |
- Ferrari-Souza, Joao Pedro, et al.
(författare)
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Vascular risk burden is a key player in the early progression of Alzheimer's disease
- 2024
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Ingår i: NEUROBIOLOGY OF AGING. - 0197-4580 .- 1558-1497. ; 136, s. 88-98
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding whether vascular risk factors (VRFs) synergistically potentiate Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression is important in the context of emerging treatments for preclinical AD. In a group of 503 cognitively unimpaired individuals, we tested whether VRF burden interacts with AD pathophysiology to accelerate neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. Baseline VRF burden was calculated considering medical data and AD pathophysiology was assessed based on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid-beta 1-42 (A beta 1-42) and tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (p-tau181). Neurodegeneration was assessed with plasma neurofilament light (NfL) and global cognition with the modified version of the Preclinical Alzheimer's Cognitive Composite. The mean (SD) age of participants was 72.9 (6.1) years, and 220 (43.7%) were men. Linear mixed-effects models revealed that an elevated VRF burden synergistically interacted with AD pathophysiology to drive longitudinal plasma NfL increase and cognitive decline. Additionally, VRF burden was not associated with CSF A beta 1-42or p-tau181 changes over time. Our results suggest that VRF burden and AD pathophysiology are independent processes; however, they synergistically lead to neurodegeneration and cognitive deterioration. In preclinical stages, the combination of therapies targeting VRFs and AD pathophysiology might potentiate treatment outcomes.
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| 3. |
- Pascoal, Tharick A., et al.
(författare)
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Discriminative accuracy of the A/T/N scheme to identify cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease
- 2023
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Ingår i: Alzheimer's and Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Disease Monitoring. - : Wiley. - 2352-8729. ; 15:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: The optimal combination of amyloid-β/tau/neurodegeneration (A/T/N) biomarker profiles for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia is unclear. Methods: We examined the discriminative accuracy of A/T/N combinations assessed with neuroimaging biomarkers for the differentiation of AD from cognitively unimpaired (CU) elderly and non-AD neurodegenerative diseases in the TRIAD, BioFINDER-1 and BioFINDER-2 cohorts (total n = 832) using area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC). Results: For the diagnosis of AD dementia (vs. CU elderly), T biomarkers performed as well as the complete A/T/N system (AUC range: 0.90–0.99). A and T biomarkers in isolation performed as well as the complete A/T/N system in differentiating AD dementia from non-AD neurodegenerative diseases (AUC range; A biomarker: 0.84–1; T biomarker: 0.83–1). Discussion: In diagnostic settings, the use of A or T neuroimaging biomarkers alone can reduce patient burden and medical costs compared with using their combination, without significantly compromising accuracy.
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| 4. |
- Pascoal, Tharick, et al.
(författare)
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Astrocyte reactivity influences the association of amyloid-β and tau biomarkers in preclinical Alzheimer's disease.
- 2023
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Ingår i: Research square. - : Research Square Platform LLC.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An unresolved question for the understanding of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology is why a significant percentage of amyloid β (Aβ)-positive cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals do not develop detectable downstream tau pathology and, consequently, clinical deterioration. In vitro evidence suggests that reactive astrocytes are key to unleashing Aβ effects in pathological tau phosphorylation. In a large study ( n =1,016) across three cohorts, we tested whether astrocyte reactivity modulates the association of Aβ with plasma tau phosphorylation in CU people. We found that Aβ pathology was associated with increased plasma phosphorylated tau levels only in individuals positive for astrocyte reactivity (Ast+). Cross-sectional and longitudinal tau-PET analysis revealed that tau tangles accumulated as a function of Aβ burden only in CU Ast+ individuals with a topographic distribution compatible with early AD. Our findings suggest that increased astrocyte reactivity is an important upstream event linking Aβ burden with initial tau pathology which might have implications for the biological definition of preclinical AD and for selecting individuals for early preventive clinical trials.
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| 5. |
- Schaffer Aguzzoli, Cristiano, et al.
(författare)
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Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Microglial Activation in Patients with Alzheimer Disease
- 2023
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Ingår i: JAMA network open. - 2574-3805. ; 6:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Importance: Neuropsychiatric symptoms are commonly encountered and are highly debilitating in patients with Alzheimer disease. Understanding their underpinnings has implications for identifying biomarkers and treatment for these symptoms. Objective: To evaluate whether glial markers are associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms in individuals across the Alzheimer disease continuum. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2023, leveraging data from the Translational Biomarkers in Aging and Dementia cohort at McGill University, Canada. Recruitment was based on referrals of individuals from the community or from outpatient clinics. Exclusion criteria included active substance abuse, major surgery, recent head trauma, safety contraindications for positron emission tomography (PET) or magnetic resonance imaging, being currently enrolled in other studies, and having inadequately treated systemic conditions. Main Outcomes and Measures: All individuals underwent assessment for neuropsychiatric symptoms (Neuropsychiatry Inventory Questionnaire [NPI-Q]), and imaging for microglial activation ([11C]PBR28 PET), amyloid-β ([18F]AZD4694 PET), and tau tangles ([18F]MK6240 PET). Results: Of the 109 participants, 72 (66%) were women and 37 (34%) were men; the median age was 71.8 years (range, 38.0-86.5 years). Overall, 70 had no cognitive impairment and 39 had cognitive impairment (25 mild; 14 Alzheimer disease dementia). Amyloid-β PET positivity was present in 21 cognitively unimpaired individuals (30%) and in 31 cognitively impaired individuals (79%). The NPI-Q severity score was associated with microglial activation in the frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices (β = 7.37; 95% CI, 1.34-13.41; P = .01). A leave-one-out approach revealed that irritability was the NPI-Q domain most closely associated with the presence of brain microglial activation (β = 6.86; 95% CI, 1.77-11.95; P = .008). Furthermore, we found that microglia-associated irritability was associated with study partner burden measured by NPI-Q distress score (β = 5.72; 95% CI, 0.33-11.10; P = .03). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study of 109 individuals across the AD continuum, microglial activation was associated with and a potential biomarker of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer disease. Moreover, our findings suggest that the combination of amyloid-β- and microglia-targeted therapies could have an impact on relieving these symptoms.
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| 6. |
- Therriault, Joseph, et al.
(författare)
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Association of Phosphorylated Tau Biomarkers With Amyloid Positron Emission Tomography vs Tau Positron Emission Tomography.
- 2022
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Ingår i: JAMA neurology. - : American Medical Association (AMA). - 2168-6157 .- 2168-6149. ; 80:2, s. 188-99
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The recent proliferation of phosphorylated tau (p-tau) biomarkers has raised questions about their preferential association with the hallmark pathologies of Alzheimer disease (AD): amyloid-β plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles.To determine whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma p-tau biomarkers preferentially reflect cerebral β-amyloidosis or neurofibrillary tangle aggregation measured with positron emission tomography (PET).This was a cross-sectional study of 2 observational cohorts: the Translational Biomarkers in Aging and Dementia (TRIAD) study, with data collected between October 2017 and August 2021, and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), with data collected between September 2015 and November 2019. TRIAD was a single-center study, and ADNI was a multicenter study. Two independent subsamples were derived from TRIAD. The first TRIAD subsample comprised individuals assessed with CSF p-tau (p-tau181, p-tau217, p-tau231, p-tau235), [18F]AZD4694 amyloid PET, and [18F]MK6240 tau PET. The second TRIAD subsample included individuals assessed with plasma p-tau (p-tau181, p-tau217, p-tau231), [18F]AZD4694 amyloid PET, and [18F]MK6240 tau PET. An independent cohort from ADNI comprised individuals assessed with CSF p-tau181, [18F]florbetapir PET, and [18F]flortaucipir PET. Participants were included based on the availability of p-tau and PET biomarker assessments collected within 9 months of each other. Exclusion criteria were a history of head trauma or magnetic resonance imaging/PET safety contraindications. No participants who met eligibility criteria were excluded.Amyloid PET, tau PET, and CSF and plasma assessments of p-tau measured with single molecule array (Simoa) assay or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Associations between p-tau biomarkers with amyloid PET and tau PET.A total of 609 participants (mean [SD] age, 66.9 [13.6] years; 347 female [57%]; 262 male [43%]) were included in the study. For all 4 phosphorylation sites assessed in CSF, p-tau was significantly more closely associated with amyloid-PET values than tau-PET values (p-tau181 difference, 13%; 95% CI, 3%-22%; P = .006; p-tau217 difference, 11%; 95% CI, 3%-20%; P = .003; p-tau231 difference, 15%; 95% CI, 5%-22%; P < .001; p-tau235 difference, 9%; 95% CI, 1%-19%; P = .02) . These results were replicated with plasma p-tau181 (difference, 11%; 95% CI, 1%-22%; P = .02), p-tau217 (difference, 9%; 95% CI, 1%-19%; P = .02), p-tau231 (difference, 13%; 95% CI, 3%-24%; P = .009), and CSF p-tau181 (difference, 9%; 95% CI, 1%-21%; P = .02) in independent cohorts.Results of this cross-sectional study of 2 observational cohorts suggest that the p-tau abnormality as an early event in AD pathogenesis was associated with amyloid-β accumulation and highlights the need for careful interpretation of p-tau biomarkers in the context of the amyloid/tau/neurodegeneration, or A/T/(N), framework.
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| 7. |
- Ashton, Nicholas J., et al.
(författare)
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A multicentre validation study of the diagnostic value of plasma neurofilament light
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 12, s. 1-12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Increased cerebrospinal fluid neurofilament light (NfL) is a recognized biomarker for neurodegeneration that can also be assessed in blood. Here, we investigate plasma NfL as a marker of neurodegeneration in 13 neurodegenerative disorders, Down syndrome, depression and cognitively unimpaired controls from two multicenter cohorts: King's College London (n = 805) and the Swedish BioFINDER study (n = 1,464). Plasma NfL was significantly increased in all cortical neurodegenerative disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and atypical parkinsonian disorders. We demonstrate that plasma NfL is clinically useful in identifying atypical parkinsonian disorders in patients with parkinsonism, dementia in individuals with Down syndrome, dementia among psychiatric disorders, and frontotemporal dementia in patients with cognitive impairment. Data-driven cut-offs highlighted the fundamental importance of age-related clinical cut-offs for disorders with a younger age of onset. Finally, plasma NfL performs best when applied to indicate no underlying neurodegeneration, with low false positives, in all age-related cut-offs.
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| 8. |
- Ashton, Nicholas J., et al.
(författare)
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Diagnostic Accuracy of a Plasma Phosphorylated Tau 217 Immunoassay for Alzheimer Disease Pathology
- 2024
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Ingår i: JAMA NEUROLOGY. - 2168-6149 .- 2168-6157.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ImportancePhosphorylated tau (p-tau) is a specific blood biomarker for Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology, with p-tau217 considered to have the most utility. However, availability of p-tau217 tests for research and clinical use has been limited. Expanding access to this highly accurate AD biomarker is crucial for wider evaluation and implementation of AD blood tests. ObjectiveTo determine the utility of a novel and commercially available immunoassay for plasma p-tau217 to detect AD pathology and evaluate reference ranges for abnormal amyloid beta (A beta) and longitudinal change across 3 selected cohorts. Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cohort study examined data from 3 single-center observational cohorts: cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Translational Biomarkers in Aging and Dementia (TRIAD) cohort (visits October 2017-August 2021) and Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (WRAP) cohort (visits February 2007-November 2020) and cross-sectional data from the Sant Pau Initiative on Neurodegeneration (SPIN) cohort (baseline visits March 2009-November 2021). Participants included individuals with and without cognitive impairment grouped by amyloid and tau (AT) status using PET or CSF biomarkers. Data were analyzed from February to June 2023. ExposuresMagnetic resonance imaging, A beta positron emission tomography (PET), tau PET, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers (A beta 42/40 and p-tau immunoassays), and plasma p-tau217 (ALZpath pTau217 assay). Main Outcomes and MeasuresAccuracy of plasma p-tau217 in detecting abnormal amyloid and tau pathology, longitudinal p-tau217 change according to baseline pathology status. ResultsThe study included 786 participants (mean [SD] age, 66.3 [9.7] years; 504 females [64.1%] and 282 males [35.9%]). High accuracy was observed in identifying elevated A beta (area under the curve [AUC], 0.92-0.96; 95% CI, 0.89-0.99) and tau pathology (AUC, 0.93-0.97; 95% CI, 0.84-0.99) across all cohorts. These accuracies were comparable with CSF biomarkers in determining abnormal PET signal. The detection of abnormal A beta pathology using a 3-range reference yielded reproducible results and reduced confirmatory testing by approximately 80%. Longitudinally, plasma p-tau217 values showed an annual increase only in A beta-positive individuals, with the highest increase observed in those with tau positivity. Conclusions and RelevanceThis study found that a commercially available plasma p-tau217 immunoassay accurately identified biological AD, comparable with results using CSF biomarkers, with reproducible cut-offs across cohorts. It detected longitudinal changes, including at the preclinical stage.
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| 9. |
- Ashton, Nicholas J., et al.
(författare)
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Diagnostic accuracy of the plasma ALZpath pTau217 immunoassay to identify Alzheimer's disease pathology.
- 2023
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Ingår i: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Phosphorylated tau (pTau) is a specific blood biomarker for Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, with pTau217 considered to have the most utility. However, availability of pTau217 tests for research and clinical use has been limited. Expanding access to this highly accurate AD biomarker is crucial for wider evaluation and implementation of AD blood tests.To determine the utility of a novel and commercially available Single molecule array (Simoa) for plasma pTau217 (ALZpath) to detect AD pathology. To evaluate references ranges for abnormal Aβ across three selected cohorts.Three single-centre observational cohorts were involved in the study: Translational Biomarkers in Aging and Dementia (TRIAD), Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (WRAP), and Sant Pau Initiative on Neurodegeneration (SPIN). MRI, Aβ-PET, and tau-PET data were available for TRIAD and WRAP, while CSF biomarkers were additionally measured in a subset of TRIAD and SPIN. Plasma measurements of pTau181, pTau217 (ALZpath), pTau231, Aβ42/40, GFAP, and NfL, were available for all cohorts. Longitudinal blood biomarker data spanning 3 years for TRIAD and 8 years for WRAP were included.MRI, Aβ-PET, tau-PET, CSF biomarkers (Aβ42/40 and pTau immunoassays) and plasma pTau217 (ALZpath Simoa).The accuracy of plasma pTau217 for detecting abnormal amyloid and tau pathology. Longitudinal pTau217 change according to baseline pathology status.The study included 786 participants (mean [SD] age, 66.3 [9.7] years; 504 females [64.1%]) were included in the study. High accuracy was observed in identifying elevated Aβ (AUC, 0.92-0.96; 95%CI 0.89-0.99) and tau pathology (AUC, 0.93-0.97; 95%CI 0.84-0.99) across all cohorts. These accuracies were significantly higher than other plasma biomarker combinations and comparable to CSF biomarkers. The detection of abnormal Aβ pathology using binary or three-range references yielded reproducible results. Longitudinally, plasma pTau217 showed an annual increase only in Aβ-positive individuals, with the highest increase observed in those with tau-positivity.The ALZpath plasma pTau217 Simoa assay accurately identifies biological AD, comparable to CSF biomarkers, with reproducible cut-offs across cohorts. It detects longitudinal changes, including at the preclinical stage, and is the first widely available, accessible, and scalable blood test for pTau217 detection.
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| 10. |
- Ashton, Nicholas J., et al.
(författare)
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Plasma p-tau231: a new biomarker for incipient Alzheimer's disease pathology.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Acta neuropathologica. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-0533 .- 0001-6322. ; 141:5, s. 709-724
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The quantification of phosphorylated tau in biofluids, either cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or plasma, has shown great promise in detecting Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology. Tau phosphorylated at threonine 231 (p-tau231) is one such biomarker in CSF but its usefulness as a blood biomarker is currently unknown. Here, we developed an ultrasensitive Single molecule array (Simoa) for the quantification of plasma p-tau231 which was validated in four independent cohorts (n = 588) in different settings, including the full AD continuum and non-AD neurodegenerative disorders. Plasma p-tau231 was able to identify patients with AD and differentiate them from amyloid-β negative cognitively unimpaired (CU) older adults with high accuracy (AUC = 0.92-0.94). Plasma p-tau231 also distinguished AD patients from patients with non-AD neurodegenerative disorders (AUC = 0.93), as well as from amyloid-β negative MCI patients (AUC = 0.89). In a neuropathology cohort, plasma p-tau231 in samples taken on avergae 4.2 years prior to post-mortem very accurately identified AD neuropathology in comparison to non-AD neurodegenerative disorders (AUC = 0.99), this is despite all patients being given an AD dementia diagnosis during life. Plasma p-tau231 was highly correlated with CSF p-tau231, tau pathology as assessed by [18F]MK-6240 positron emission tomography (PET), and brain amyloidosis by [18F]AZD469 PET. Remarkably, the inflection point of plasma p-tau231, increasing as a function of continuous [18F]AZD469 amyloid-β PET standardized uptake value ratio, was shown to be earlier than standard thresholds of amyloid-β PET positivity and the increase of plasma p-tau181. Furthermore, plasma p-tau231 was significantly increased in amyloid-β PET quartiles 2-4, whereas CSF p-tau217 and plasma p-tau181 increased only at quartiles 3-4 and 4, respectively. Finally, plasma p-tau231 differentiated individuals across the entire Braak stage spectrum, including Braak staging from Braak 0 through Braak I-II, which was not observed for plasma p-tau181. To conclude, this novel plasma p-tau231 assay identifies the clinical stages of AD and neuropathology equally well as plasma p-tau181, but increases earlier, already with subtle amyloid-β deposition, prior to the threshold for amyloid-β PET positivity has been attained, and also in response to early brain tau deposition. Thus, plasma p-tau231 is a promising novel biomarker of emerging AD pathology with the potential to facilitate clinical trials to identify vulnerable populations below PET threshold of amyloid-β positivity or apparent entorhinal tau deposition.
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