Home › Research › Tau biomarkers
β-Amyloid in Cerebrospinal Fluid: How to Keep It Floating (Not Sticking) by Standardization of Preanalytic Processes and Collection Tubes
Strand H, Garabet L, Bjelke B, Sithiravel C, Hardang IM, Moe MK.. The journal of applied laboratory medicine, 2021-09-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background Phosphorylated tau (pTau), total tau (tTau), and β-amyloid (Aβ) are established cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers used to help diagnose Alzheimer disease. Preanalytic workups of CSF samples lack harmonization, making interlaboratory comparison of these biomarkers challenging. The Aβ adsorbs to sample tubes, yielding underestimated concentrations, and may result in false Alzheimer disease diagnosis.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Strand, H., Garabet, L., Bjelke, B., Sithiravel, C., Hardang, I. M., & Moe, M. K. (2021). β-Amyloid in Cerebrospinal Fluid: How to Keep It Floating (Not Sticking) by Standardization of Preanalytic Processes and Collection Tubes. The journal of applied laboratory medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/jalm/jfab024
Vancouver
Strand H, Garabet L, Bjelke B, Sithiravel C, Hardang IM, Moe MK. β-Amyloid in Cerebrospinal Fluid: How to Keep It Floating (Not Sticking) by Standardization of Preanalytic Processes and Collection Tubes. The journal of applied laboratory medicine. 2021. doi:10.1093/jalm/jfab024. PMID: 34059876.
BibTeX
@article{strand2021-34059876,
author = {Strand, H. and Garabet, L. and Bjelke, B. and Sithiravel, C. and Hardang, I. M. and Moe, M. K.},
title = {{β-Amyloid in Cerebrospinal Fluid: How to Keep It Floating (Not Sticking) by Standardization of Preanalytic Processes and Collection Tubes}},
journal = {The journal of applied laboratory medicine},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1093/jalm/jfab024},
pmid = {34059876},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/jalm/jfab024}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Preanalytic workups of CSF samples lack harmonization, making interlaboratory comparison of these biomarkers challenging.
- The Aβ adsorbs to sample tubes, yielding underestimated concentrations, and may result in false Alzheimer disease diagnosis.
- Our primary aim was to compare Aβ recovery across multiple polypropylene tubes and to test the stability of tTau, pTau, and Aβ in the best performing tube.
- Methods Eight polypropylene tubes were tested using 3 CSF pools with Aβ concentrations 1000 ng/L.
Why it matters
This study compared different polypropylene collection tubes to see how much amyloid is lost by sticking to tube walls, since low measured levels could lead to a false Alzheimer's diagnosis. It is about standardizing how cerebrospinal fluid samples are handled, not about treating, curing or preventing the disease.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Blood tests & biomarkers →
Study details
- Participants14
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 35/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The journal of applied laboratory medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine: journal h-index 44 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 14 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 7 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.0 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 4 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Morten K. Moe: h-index 14 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Oslo: institution h-index 1,024 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 34059876) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 35 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1093/jalm/jfab024
- PubMed: 34059876
- Original source →
- Free full text: The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Related studies in Tau biomarkers
Also tagged “cerebrospinal”
821 studies in the library carry the topic tag “cerebrospinal”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 821 tagged studies.