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Comparison of analytical platforms for cerebrospinal fluid measures of β-amyloid 1-42, total tau, and p-tau181 for identifying Alzheimer disease amyloid plaque pathology
Fagan AM, Shaw LM, Xiong C, Vanderstichele H, Mintun MA, Trojanowski JQ, Coart E, Morris JC et al.. Archives of neurology, 2011-05-09
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer disease (AD) are currently being considered for inclusion in revised diagnostic criteria for research and/or clinical purposes to increase the certainty of antemortem diagnosis. Objective To test whether CSF biomarker assays differ in their ability to identify true markers of underlying AD pathology (eg, amyloid plaques and/or neurofibrillary tangles) in living individuals. Design We compared the performances of the 2 most commonly used platforms, INNOTEST enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and INNO-BIA AlzBio3, for measurement of CSF β-amyloid (Aβ) and tau proteins to identify the presence of amyloid plaques in a research cohort (n=103). Values obtained for CSF Aβ1-42, total tau, and phosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau(181)) using the 2 assay platforms were compared with brain amyloid load as assessed by positron emission tomography using the amyloid imaging agent Pittsburgh compound B. Setting The Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri. Subjects Research volunteers who were cognitively normal or had mild to moderate AD dementia. Results The 2 assay platforms yielded different (approximately 2- to 6-fold) absolute values for the various analytes, but relative values were highly correlated. The CSF Aβ1-42 correlated inversely and tau and p-tau(181) correlated positively with the amount of cortical Pittsburgh compound B binding, albeit to differing degrees. Both assays yielded similar patterns of CSF biomarker correlations with amyloid load. The ratios of total tau to Aβ1-42 and p-tau(181) to Aβ1-42 outperformed any single analyte, including Aβ1-42, in discriminating individuals with vs without cortical amyloid. Conclusions The INNOTEST and INNO-BIA CSF platforms perform equally well in identifying individuals with underlying amyloid plaque pathology. Differences in absolute values, however, point to the need for assay-specific diagnostic cutoff values.
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APA 7th
Fagan, A. M., Shaw, L. M., Xiong, C., Vanderstichele, H., Mintun, M. A., Trojanowski, J. Q., et al. (2011). Comparison of analytical platforms for cerebrospinal fluid measures of β-amyloid 1-42, total tau, and p-tau181 for identifying Alzheimer disease amyloid plaque pathology. Archives of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneurol.2011.105
Vancouver
Fagan AM, Shaw LM, Xiong C, Vanderstichele H, Mintun MA, Trojanowski JQ, et al. Comparison of analytical platforms for cerebrospinal fluid measures of β-amyloid 1-42, total tau, and p-tau181 for identifying Alzheimer disease amyloid plaque pathology. Archives of neurology. 2011. doi:10.1001/archneurol.2011.105. PMID: 21555603.
BibTeX
@article{fagan2011-21555603,
author = {Fagan, A. M. and Shaw, L. M. and Xiong, C. and Vanderstichele, H. and Mintun, M. A. and Trojanowski, J. Q. and Coart, E. and Morris, J. C. and others},
title = {{Comparison of analytical platforms for cerebrospinal fluid measures of β-amyloid 1-42, total tau, and p-tau181 for identifying Alzheimer disease amyloid plaque pathology}},
journal = {Archives of neurology},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1001/archneurol.2011.105},
pmid = {21555603},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archneurol.2011.105}
}
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
- Values obtained for CSF Aβ1-42, total tau, and phosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau(181)) using the 2 assay platforms were compared with brain amyloid load as assessed by positron emission tomography using the amyloid imaging agent Pittsburgh compound B.
- Results The 2 assay platforms yielded different (approximately 2- to 6-fold) absolute values for the various analytes, but relative values were highly correlated.
Why it matters
In 103 research volunteers, this study ran spinal-fluid amyloid and tau on two widely used lab platforms and checked both against amyloid PET brain scans. The platforms gave raw numbers that differed about 2- to 6-fold but ranked people similarly and "perform equally well" at spotting amyloid plaques, so each test needs its own cutoff, and the tau-to-amyloid ratios did better than any single marker. It compares diagnostic tests and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.
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Study details
- Participants103
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 56/100
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 (Archives of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Archives of Neurology: journal h-index 353 (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 | 1 / 5 | 2011 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 103 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 190 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 11.2 citations a year over 17 year(s) since 2011 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 12.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 20 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 27 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author David M. Holtzman: h-index 206 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Washington University in St. Louis: institution h-index 1,962 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21555603) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 56 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1001/archneurol.2011.105
- PubMed: 21555603
- Original source →
- Free full text: Archives of Neurology →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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