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Diagnostic Accuracy of a Plasma Phosphorylated Tau 217 Immunoassay for Alzheimer Disease Pathology
Ashton NJ, Brum WS, Di Molfetta G, Benedet AL, Arslan B, Jonaitis E, Langhough RE, Cody K, Wilson R, Carlsson CM, Vanmechelen E, Montoliu-Gaya L, et al.. JAMA Neurology, 2024-03-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Results The study included 786 participants (mean [SD] age, 66.3 [9.7] years; 504 females [64.1%] and 282 males [35.9%]). The detection of abnormal Aβ pathology using a 3-range reference yielded reproducible results and reduced confirmatory testing by approximately 80%. Conclusions and relevance This study found that a commercially available plasma p-tau217 immunoassay accurately identified biological AD, comparable with results using CSF biomarkers, with reproducible cut-offs across cohorts.
Key findings
- Results The study included 786 participants (mean [SD] age, 66.3 [9.7] years; 504 females [64.1%] and 282 males [35.9%]).
- The detection of abnormal Aβ pathology using a 3-range reference yielded reproducible results and reduced confirmatory testing by approximately 80%.
- Conclusions and relevance This study found that a commercially available plasma p-tau217 immunoassay accurately identified biological AD, comparable with results using CSF biomarkers, with reproducible cut-offs across cohorts.
Why it matters
A commercially available plasma p-tau217 immunoassay accurately identified biological Alzheimer's disease, comparable to cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, with reproducible cut-offs across cohorts. Using a three-range reference reduced confirmatory testing by about 80%, which could make diagnosis less invasive and more accessible.
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Study details
- Study designcohort
- Participants786
- Effect sizeAUC 0.92-0.96 for amyloid PET status; ~80% reduction in confirmatory tests
- Evidence strengthHigh
Limitations
One-third of participants were cognitively impaired, limiting generalisability to symptomatic stages; results cannot be generalised to all groups without cohorts with larger representation of diverse ethnic populations; CSF p-tau181 used as the tau marker in SPIN is not interchangeable with methods that better reflect tangle pathology.
How this study scored 84/100
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. We have no data on free to read, so that was left out: it earned 82 of the 98 points we could judge it on, which is 84 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | JAMA Neurology: journal h-index 235 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2024 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 786 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 868 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 217.0 citations a year over 4 year(s) since 2024 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 236.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 5 / 6 | Cited by 103 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 868 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Henrik Zetterberg: h-index 196 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 18 institution(s) in 8 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 38252443) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 82 / 98 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 82 of the 98 points we could judge it on is 84 out of 100. |
| Total | 84 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.5319
- PubMed: 38252443
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
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
Ashton, N. J., Brum, W. S., Di Molfetta, G., Benedet, A. L., Arslan, B., Jonaitis, E., et al. (2024). Diagnostic Accuracy of a Plasma Phosphorylated Tau 217 Immunoassay for Alzheimer Disease Pathology. JAMA Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.5319
Vancouver
Ashton NJ, Brum WS, Di Molfetta G, Benedet AL, Arslan B, Jonaitis E, et al. Diagnostic Accuracy of a Plasma Phosphorylated Tau 217 Immunoassay for Alzheimer Disease Pathology. JAMA Neurology. 2024. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.5319. PMID: 38252443.
BibTeX
@article{ashton2024-38252443,
author = {Ashton, N. J. and Brum, W. S. and Di Molfetta, G. and Benedet, A. L. and Arslan, B. and Jonaitis, E. and Langhough, R. E. and Cody, K. and Wilson, R. and Carlsson, C. M. and Vanmechelen, E. and Montoliu-Gaya, L. and others},
title = {{Diagnostic Accuracy of a Plasma Phosphorylated Tau 217 Immunoassay for Alzheimer Disease Pathology}},
journal = {JAMA Neurology},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.5319},
pmid = {38252443},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.5319}
}
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