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64/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 64 out of 100. Tau biomarkers

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Importance The amyloid/tau/neurodegeneration (A/T/N) framework uses cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of total tau (tTau) as a marker of neurodegeneration and CSF levels of phosphorylated tau 181 (pTau181) as a marker of tau tangles. However, it is unclear whether CSF levels of tTau and pTau181 have similar or different trajectories over the course of Alzheimer disease. Objectives To examine the rates of change in CSF levels of tTau and pTau181 across the Alzheimer disease course and how the rates of change are associated with brain atrophy as measured by magnetic resonance imaging.

Key findings

However, it is unclear whether CSF levels of tTau and pTau181 have similar or different trajectories over the course of Alzheimer disease.
Objectives To examine the rates of change in CSF levels of tTau and pTau181 across the Alzheimer disease course and how the rates of change are associated with brain atrophy as measured by magnetic resonance imaging.
Design, setting, and participants This cohort study was set in tertiary research clinics.
Each participant was a member of a pedigree with a known mutation for dominantly inherited Alzheimer disease.

Why it matters

This cohort study examined how cerebrospinal fluid total tau and phosphorylated tau 181 change over the course of Alzheimer's disease and how those changes relate to brain atrophy. It is observational and does not test any treatment or prevention.

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Study details

Study designcohort study
Participants465
Effect size56.3%
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 64/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA network open)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	JAMA Network Open: journal h-index 235 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	7 / 12	A cohort study following people over time
Strength of evidence	3 / 5	Rated “moderate” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	2 / 5	2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	2 / 4	465 participants
Effect reported	2 / 3	Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test
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	3 / 7	Cited 38 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	4.2 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019
Impact for its field and year	2 / 6	Cited 2.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 4 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 16 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Eric McDade: h-index 65 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	3 / 3	Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	3 / 3	OpenAlex lists 20 institution(s) in 5 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31825500)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	64 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

APA 7th

Llibre-Guerra, J. J., Li, Y., Schindler, S. E., Gordon, B. A., Fagan, A. M., Morris, J. C., et al. (2019). Association of Longitudinal Changes in Cerebrospinal Fluid Total Tau and Phosphorylated Tau 181 and Brain Atrophy With Disease Progression in Patients With Alzheimer Disease. JAMA network open. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.17126

Vancouver

Llibre-Guerra JJ, Li Y, Schindler SE, Gordon BA, Fagan AM, Morris JC, et al. Association of Longitudinal Changes in Cerebrospinal Fluid Total Tau and Phosphorylated Tau 181 and Brain Atrophy With Disease Progression in Patients With Alzheimer Disease. JAMA network open. 2019. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.17126. PMID: 31825500.

BibTeX

@article{llibreguerra2019-31825500,
  author  = {Llibre-Guerra, J. J. and Li, Y. and Schindler, S. E. and Gordon, B. A. and Fagan, A. M. and Morris, J. C. and Benzinger, T. L. S. and Hassenstab, J. and others},
  title   = {{Association of Longitudinal Changes in Cerebrospinal Fluid Total Tau and Phosphorylated Tau 181 and Brain Atrophy With Disease Progression in Patients With Alzheimer Disease}},
  journal = {JAMA network open},
  year    = {2019},
  doi     = {10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.17126},
  pmid    = {31825500},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.17126}
}

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