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Brain‐derived tau to measure treatment effect in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia
Cassandra Marotta, Fernando González‐Ortiz, Michael Turton, Henrik Zetterberg, Peter Harrison, Christopher M. Hovens, Benjamin Sinclair, Terence John O'Brien et al.. Alzheimer s & Dementia Diagnosis Assessment & Disease Monitoring, 2025-04-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Abstract INTRODUCTION Brain‐derived tau (BD‐tau) measures tau specifically from brain‐derived sources and can differentiate Alzheimer's disease (AD) from other diseases. This study investigated BD‐tau as a potential biomarker of treatment effect. METHODS BD‐tau and phosphorylated tau‐217 (p‐tau217) levels were measured after treatment with an anti‐tau drug in AD and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) clinical trials, and the association with total tau (t‐tau), p‐tau181 , and amyloid beta 42 (Aβ42) was examined. RESULTS Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) BD‐tau decreased after treatment in the AD cohort; however, no change was seen in bvFTD or p‐tau217 in either cohort. CSF t‐tau and p‐tau181 correlated with BD‐tau in AD ( r = 0.9113 and 0.7746, p < 0.0001) and bvFTD ( r = 1.0 and r = 0.79, p < 0.05). CSF BD‐tau did not correlate with serum or plasma BD‐tau in bvFTD. DISCUSSION CSF BD‐tau shows potential as a biomarker of treatment effect in AD but not bvFTD. Further research is needed to investigate this effect in blood‐based samples and in other neurodegenerative diseases. Trial registration : ACTRN12611001200976, ACTRN12617001218381. Highlights Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) brain‐derived tau (BD‐tau) levels decreased with sodium selenate treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). CSF BD‐tau levels did not change with sodium selenate treatment in bvFTD. Baseline CSF BD‐tau correlated with CSF total tau (t‐tau) and phosphorylated tau‐181 (p‐tau181) in AD and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Baseline serum and plasma BD‐tau levels did not correlate with CSF BD‐tau in bvFTD. CSF p‐tau217 did not change with sodium selenate treatment in AD or bvFTD.
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APA 7th
Marotta, C., González‐Ortiz, F., Turton, M., Zetterberg, H., Harrison, P., Hovens, C. M., et al. (2025). Brain‐derived tau to measure treatment effect in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. Alzheimer s & Dementia Diagnosis Assessment & Disease Monitoring. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.70123
Vancouver
Marotta C, González‐Ortiz F, Turton M, Zetterberg H, Harrison P, Hovens CM, et al. Brain‐derived tau to measure treatment effect in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. Alzheimer s & Dementia Diagnosis Assessment & Disease Monitoring. 2025. doi:10.1002/dad2.70123. PMID: 40487537.
BibTeX
@article{marotta2025-40487537,
author = {Marotta, Cassandra and González‐Ortiz, Fernando and Turton, Michael and Zetterberg, Henrik and Harrison, Peter and Hovens, Christopher M. and Sinclair, Benjamin and O'Brien, Terence John and others},
title = {{Brain‐derived tau to measure treatment effect in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia}},
journal = {Alzheimer s \& Dementia Diagnosis Assessment \& Disease Monitoring},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/dad2.70123},
pmid = {40487537},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.70123}
}
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.
Key findings
- RESULTS Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) BD‐tau decreased after treatment in the AD cohort; however, no change was seen in bvFTD or p‐tau217 in either cohort.
Why it matters
Cerebrospinal fluid brain-derived tau decreased after sodium selenate treatment in the Alzheimer's disease cohort but showed no change in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia or in p-tau217 in either cohort. This suggests brain-derived tau may be a biomarker of treatment effect in Alzheimer's disease but not frontotemporal dementia, and further research is needed.
Study details
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 41/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer s & Dementia Diagnosis Assessment & Disease Monitoring) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia Diagnosis Assessment & Disease Monitoring: journal h-index 86 (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 | 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 | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 3 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.6× 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 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Lucy E. Vivash: h-index 28 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 12 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40487537) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 41 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1002/dad2.70123
- PubMed: 40487537
- Original source →
- Free full text: Alzheimer s & Dementia Diagnosis Assessment & Disease Monitoring →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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