Levels of tau protein in plasma are associated with neurodegeneration and cognitive function in a population‐based elderly cohort
Open accessAbstract
INTRODUCTION: Tau protein levels in plasma may be a marker of neuronal damage. We examined associations between plasma tau levels and Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) neuroimaging measures among nondemented individuals. METHODS: Participants included 378 cognitively normal (CN) and 161 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) individuals enrolled in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging with concurrent neuropsychological measures and amyloid PET, fluorodeoxyglucose PET, and MRI. Baseline plasma tau levels were measured using the Quanterix Simoa-HD1 tau assay. RESULTS: Plasma tau levels were higher in MCI compared with CN (4.34 vs. 4.14 pg/mL, P = .078). In regression models adjusted for age, gender, education, and APOE, higher plasma tau was associated with worse memory performance (b = -0.30, P = .02) and abnormal cortical thickness in an AD signature region (odds ratio = 1.80, P = .018). DISCUSSION: Plasma tau is associated with cortical thickness and memory performance. Longitudinal studies will better elucidate the associations between plasma tau, neurodegeneration, and cognition.
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Candidate blood biomarkers such as neurofilament light protein and plasma tau show promise as non-disease-specific tools to identify neurodegeneration.
“Candidate blood biomarkers such as neurofilament light protein [204] and plasma tau [205] show promise as non-disease-specific tools to identify neurodegeneration.”
From NIA‐AA Research Framework: Toward a biological definition of Alzheimer's disease (2018) · cites this paper as [205]
Incorporating biomarkers on a large scale in many settings will require low-cost and minimally invasive biomarkers (e.g., blood or saliva) that are now emerging.
“While imaging/CSF biomarker data on subsets of individuals from well-designed community-based cohorts would provide additional research value, incorporating biomarkers on a large scale in many settings will require low-cost and minimally invasive biomarkers (e.g., blood or saliva) that are now emerging [202–205].”
From NIA‐AA Research Framework: Toward a biological definition of Alzheimer's disease (2018) · cites this paper as [205]
Many candidate blood biomarkers have failed in replication studies, but somewhat promising results have been seen for plasma tau, NFL, and combinations of Aβ42 and Aβ40.
“Many candidate blood biomarkers have failed in replication studies,7,8 but somewhat promising results have been seen for plasma tau, neurofilament light chain (NFL), and combinations of Aβ42 and Aβ40.9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17”
From Performance of Fully Automated Plasma Assays as Screening Tests for Alzheimer Disease–Related β-Amyloid Status (2019) · cites this paper as [10]
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- Authors
- Dage, J. L., Wennberg, A. M. V., Airey, D. C., Hagen, C. E., Knopman, D. S., Machulda, M. M., Roberts, R. O., Jack, C. R., Petersen, R. C., & Mielke, M. M.
- Affiliations
- Eli Lilly (United States) (US)
- Mayo Clinic (US)
- Corresponding author
- Mielke, Michelle M.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Alzheimer's & Dementia
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2016-07-16
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1226-1234
- ISSN
- 1552-5260 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-5279
- PMC
- PMC5148697
- OpenAlex
- W2503237041
- Cited by
- 145
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 4 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 11.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Alzheimer s & Dementia (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Aging (U01 AG006786, R01 AG011378, R01 AG041851, R01 AG049704)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Cancer-related cognitive impairment studies
- Keywords
- plasma tau, neurodegeneration
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Alzheimer Disease, Brain, Cognition, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Biomarkers, tau Proteins, Positron-Emission Tomography, Cognitive Dysfunction
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