Author Identifier (ORCID)
Simon Laws: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4355-7082
Stephanie Rainey-Smith: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7328-9624
James D. Doecke: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2863-0293
Abstract
Introduction: With increased uptake in disease-modifying treatments for amyloid beta (Aβ) removal, it is important to measure performance of highly sensitive plasma biomarkers to detect the presence of Aβ and tau in cognitively impaired populations. Methods: In this study, we investigated a large set of plasma biomarkers for their capability to predict Aβ and tau positron emission tomography (PET) and their association with increasing Aβ and tau burden. RESULTS: From the biomarkers assessed, tau phosphorylated at threonine 217 (pTau217) showed the largest increases across the full range of Aβ and tau levels. Furthermore, pTau217/Aβ42 had the smallest proportion of participants in the intermediate zone (∼4%) to predict Aβ status using a 90/90% dual cut-off for sensitivity and specificity, with < 20% of participants in the intermediate zone using the 95/95% dual cut-off. Discussion: While the studied biomarkers proved their utility to predict Aβ and tau PET at their respective thresholds, each has separate quantified responses to Aβ and tau aggregation.
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease continuum, amyloid beta, association, plasma biomarker, positron emission tomography imaging, prediction, tau
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
2-1-2026
Volume
22
Issue
2
PubMed ID
41664541
Publication Title
Alzheimer's & Dementia
Publisher
Wiley
School
Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease Research and Care / School of Medical and Health Sciences / Centre for Precision Health
Funders
Swedish Research Council (2023-00356, 2022-01018, 2019-02397) / European Union’s Horizon Europe (101053962) / Swedish State Support for Clinical Research (ALFGBG-71320) / Alzheimer Drug Discovery Foundation, USA (201809-2016862) / AD Strategic Fund and the Alzheimer’s Association (ADSF-21-831376-C, ADSF21-831381-C, ADSF-21-831377-C, ADSF-24-1284328-C) / European Partnership on Metrology, co-financed by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme and by the Participating States (NEuroBioStand, 22HLT07) / Blue Field Project / Cure Alzheimer’s Fund / Olav Thon Foundation / Erling-Persson Family Foundation / Familjen Rönströms Stiftelse / Familjen Beiglers Stiftelse / Stiftelsen för Gamla Tjänarinnor / Hjärnfonden, Sweden (FO2022-0270) / European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Skłodowska Curie Grant (860197) / European Union JointProgramme–NeurodegenerativeDiseaseResearch (JPND202100694) / National Institute for Health and Care Research University College London Hospitals / Biomedical Research Centre, UK / Dementia Research Institute at UCL (UKDRI-1003) / National Health and Medical Research Council / Enigma Australia / Biogen / Eisai / Abbvie
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
Cánovas, R., Fowler, C. J., Feizpour, A., Dóre, V., Bourgeat, P., Saad, Z. S., Triana‐Baltzer, G., Kolb, H. C., Vandijck, M., Kollmorgen, G., Quijano‐Rubio, C., Fripp, J., Laws, S., Bannon, A. W., Blennow, K., Zetterberg, H., Rainey‐Smith, S., Mathotaarachchi, S., Rowe, C. C., . . . Doecke, J. D. (2026). Plasma biomarker progression across the Alzheimer’s disease amyloid beta and tau positron emission tomography trajectories. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 22(2), e71145. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71145