Blood Test Validated for Early Alzheimer's Detection in Asian Populations: New Study Shows
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A study in Alzheimer's & Dementia, a leading journal in dementia research, has demonstrated the high accuracy of plasma p-tau217 as a blood-based biomarker for detecting abnormal brain beta-amyloid (Aβ) pathology, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). More significantly, the study validates its effectiveness even in individuals with cerebrovascular disease (CeVD), which is highly prevalent in Asian populations. This finding can enhance early diagnosis, improve patient risk stratification, and facilitate better clinical management of AD in diverse populations.
Brain amyloid status on amyloid PET scans was assessed along with the plasma ALZpath p-tau217 assay to derive three-range reference points for PET Aβ+ based on 90% sensitivity (lower threshold) and 90% specificity (upper threshold).
The results showed that plasma p-tau217 outperformed routine clinical assessments and other plasma biomarkers. The high-risk group showed significantly higher rates of cognitive decline than the low-risk group.
Risk stratification for PET Aβ+ based on a plasma p-tau217 assay demonstrated potential diagnostic and prognostic utility in an Asian cohort with concomitant CeVD. The utility of plasma p-tau217 to detect brain amyloid beta pathology (Aβ+) was studied in an Asian cohort with concomitant cerebrovascular disease. Plasma tau phosphorylated at threonine 217 showed superior utility in detecting Aβ+ compared to neuroimaging measures, clinical workup, or other blood biomarkers including p-tau181, glial fibrillary protein and Aβ. Higher plasma p-tau217 was correlated with faster cognitive decline and hence, it was concluded that plasma p-tau217 shows promise as an Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in diverse populations.
Ref: Chong J R, Hilal S et al. Clinical utility of plasma p-tau217 in identifying abnormal brain amyloid burden in an Asian cohort with high prevalence of concomitant cerebrovascular disease. Alzheimer`s and Dementia. Volume21, Issue2. February 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.14502
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