With always considerable implications, while Alzheimer’s disease takes more than a decade to develop. Such a test would thus allow treatment even before the very first symptoms appear.
The Swedish team focused on the search for plasma biomarkers useful for predicting the future development of β-amyloid (Aβ) pathology linked to Alzheimer’s disease. We now know that plasma biomarkers are essential not only for the detection of the disease but also the selection of suitable participants for future primary prevention clinical trials testing anti-amyloid therapies.
This new research suggests that combining plasma levels of 2 markers (only) p-tau217 et d’Aβ42/40 makes it possible to predict the development of Aβ pathology in people at an early stage of Aβ accumulation. These biomarkers could therefore give rise to a primary prevention screening test.
The study cohort is carried out among 3 groups of people suffering from the beginning of accumulation of beta-amyloid protein, but free from cognitive impairment. Plasma measurements of plasma phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) and Aβ42/40 were compared to Aβ assessments with positron emission tomography (Aβ-PET) and Aβ42/40 measurement in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). These comparisons reveal:
- better performance of the combination of p-tau217 and Aβ42/40 vs other detection methods, at this early stage of disease development.
The results therefore suggest that the combination of plasma levels of p-tau217 and Aβ42/40 could give rise to a first-line blood test, suitable for primary care and allowing a first prediction of the development of Aβ pathology in people presenting an accumulation of the toxic protein even below the threshold.
Furthermore, these biomarkers could facilitate the selection of participants for future clinical trials of primary prevention and the testing of new treatments.
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