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Cited by 789Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchCerebrospinal fluid and hydrocephalus

tau protein in cerebrospinal fluid: A biochemical marker for axonal degeneration in Alzheimer disease?

Blennow, K., Wallin, A., Ågren, H., Spenger, C., Siegfried, J., Vanmechelen, E.·1995·Molecular and Chemical Neuropathology
DOI 10.1007/bf02815140
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Abstract

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biochemical markers for Alzheimer disease (AD) would be of great value to improve the clinical diagnostic accuracy of the disorder. As abnormally phosphorylated forms of the microtubule-associated protein tau have been consistently found in the brains of AD patients, and since tau can be detected in CSF, two assays based on several well-defined monoclonal tau antibodies were used to study these proteins in CSF. One assay detects most normal and abnormal forms of tau (CSF-tau), while the other is highly specific for phosphorylated tau (CSF-PHFtau). A marked increase in CSF-PHFtau was found in AD (2230 +/- 930 pg/mL), as compared with controls (640 +/- 230 pg/mL; p < 0.0001), vascular dementia, VAD (1610 +/- 840 pg/mL; p < 0.05), frontal lobe dementia, FLD (1530 +/- 1000 pg/mL; p < 0.05), Parkinson disease, PD (720 +/- 590 pg/mL; p < 0.0001), and patients with major depression (230 +/- 130 pg/mL; p < 0.0001). Parallel results were obtained for CSF-tau. No less than 35/40 (88%) of AD patients had a CSF-PHFtau value higher than the cutoff level of 1140 pg/mL in controls. The present study demonstrates that elevated tau/PHFtau levels are consistently found in CSF of AD patients. However, a considerable overlap is still present with other forms of dementia, both VAD and FLD. CSF-tau and CSF-PHFtau may therefore be useful as a positive biochemical marker, to discriminate AD from normal aging, PD, and depressive pseudodementia. Further studies are needed to clarify the sensitivity and specificity of these assays, including follow-up studies with neuropathological examinations.

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Crossref · 10.1007/bf02815140

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  • CSF levels of T-tau and P-tau are tightly correlated within cohorts of AD patients and controls.

    “CSF levels of T-tau and P-tau are tightly correlated within cohorts of AD patients and controls [145], and the correlation between CSF T-tau and P-tau is typically much higher than between CSF T-tau and MRI measures of atrophy or FDG PET [36,115].”

    From NIA‐AA Research Framework: Toward a biological definition of Alzheimer's disease (2018) · cites this paper as [145]

  • Increased tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid after injury are consistent with injury causing tau release.

    “the presence of increased tau CSF levels after injury is consistent with the possibility that injury induces release (Blennow et al., 1995).”

    From Propagation of Tau Pathology in a Model of Early Alzheimer's Disease (2012) · cites this paper as Blennow et al., 1995

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Authors
Blennow, K., Wallin, A., Ågren, H., Spenger, C., Siegfried, J., & Vanmechelen, E.
Affiliations
  • University of Gothenburg (SE)
  • University of Bern (CH)
  • Fujirebio (Belgium) (BE)
ORCID
Venue
Molecular and Chemical Neuropathology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
1995-12
Volume
26
Issue
3
Pages
231-245
ISSN
1044-7393 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1007/bf02815140
OpenAlex
W2085851888
Cited by
789
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 22 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 28 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 32 · 2014: 40 · 2013: 43 · 2012: 39
FWCI
4.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Molecular and Chemical Neuropathology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Tore Nilsons Stiftelse för Medicinsk Forskning
  • Vetenskapsrådet
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Cerebrospinal fluid and hydrocephalus
Keywords
tau protein, cerebrospinal fluid, phosphorylated tau, Alzheimer's disease, biochemical markers, vascular dementia, frontal lobe dementia, Parkinson's disease, major depressive disorder, depressive pseudodementia, diagnostic accuracy, monoclonal antibodies
MeSH terms
Aged, Alzheimer Disease, Axons, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Nerve Degeneration, Phosphorylation, Biomarkers, tau Proteins

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