Plasma phospho-tau181 increases with Alzheimer's disease clinical severity and is associated with tau- and amyloid-positron emission tomography

We examined and compared plasma phospho-tau181 (pTau181) and total tau: (1) across the Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical spectrum; (2) in relation to brain amyloid β (Aβ) positron emission tomography (PET), tau PET, and cortical thickness; and (3) as a screening tool for elevated brain Aβ. Part...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Alzheimer's & dementia 2018-08, Vol.14 (8), p.989-997
Main Authors:	Mielke, Michelle M., Hagen, Clinton E., Xu, Jing, Chai, Xiyun, Vemuri, Prashanthi, Lowe, Val J., Airey, David C., Knopman, David S., Roberts, Rosebud O., Machulda, Mary M., Jack, Clifford R., Petersen, Ronald C., Dage, Jeffrey L.
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Alzheimer's disease Amyloid PET Plasma phosphorylated tau Plasma tau Predicting brain amyloid Tau PET
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	We examined and compared plasma phospho-tau181 (pTau181) and total tau: (1) across the Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical spectrum; (2) in relation to brain amyloid β (Aβ) positron emission tomography (PET), tau PET, and cortical thickness; and (3) as a screening tool for elevated brain Aβ. Participants included 172 cognitively unimpaired, 57 mild cognitively impaired, and 40 AD dementia patients with concurrent Aβ PET (Pittsburgh compound B), tau PET (AV1451), magnetic resonance imaging, plasma total tau, and pTau181. Plasma total tau and pTau181 levels were higher in AD dementia patients than those in cognitively unimpaired. Plasma pTau181 was more strongly associated with both Aβ and tau PET. Plasma pTau181 was a more sensitive and specific predictor of elevated brain Aβ than total tau and was as good as, or better than, the combination of age and apolipoprotein E (APOE). Plasma pTau181 may have utility as a biomarker of AD pathophysiology and as a noninvasive screener for elevated brain Aβ. •Plasma total tau and phosphorylated tau 181 (pTau181) increased with Alzheimer's disease severity.•Plasma pTau181, but not total tau, was higher among those with elevated brain amyloid β (Aβ).•Plasma pTau181 was associated with both Aβ and tau PET.•Plasma pTau181 was a sensitive and specific predictor of elevated brain Aβ.
ISSN:	1552-5260 1552-5279