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Evaluation of a novel immunoassay to detect p-tau Thr217 in the CSF to distinguish Alzheimer disease from other dementias
Hanes J, Kovac A, Kvartsberg H, Kontsekova E, Fialova L, Katina S, Kovacech B, Stevens E et al.. Neurology, 2020-09-24
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective To investigate whether tau phosphorylated at Thr217 (p-tau T217) assay in CSF can distinguish patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) from patients with other dementias and healthy controls. Methods We developed and validated a novel Simoa immunoassay to detect p-tau T217 in CSF. There was a total of 190 participants from 3 cohorts with AD (n = 77) and other neurodegenerative diseases (n = 69) as well as healthy participants (n = 44).
Key findings
- Methods We developed and validated a novel Simoa immunoassay to detect p-tau T217 in CSF.
- There was a total of 190 participants from 3 cohorts with AD (n = 77) and other neurodegenerative diseases (n = 69) as well as healthy participants (n = 44).
- Results The p-tau T217 assay (cutoff 242 pg/mL) identified patients with AD with accuracy of 90%, with 78% positive predictive value (PPV), 97% negative predictive value (NPV), 93% sensitivity, and 88% specificity, compared favorably with p-tau T181 ELISA (52 pg/mL), showing 78% accuracy, 58% PPV, 98% NPV, 71% specificity, and 97% sensitivity.
- The assay distinguished patients with AD from age-matched healthy controls (cutoff 163 pg/mL, 98% sensitivity, 93% specificity), similarly to p-tau T181 ELISA (cutoff 60 pg/mL, 96% sensitivity, 86% specificity).
Why it matters
This study developed and validated a new immunoassay for p-tau Thr217 in cerebrospinal fluid and tested whether it could distinguish Alzheimer's disease from other dementias and healthy controls. It is a diagnostic test study, not a treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Participants77
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 51/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (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 | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 77 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 | 4 / 7 | Cited 55 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 6.9 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 5 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 24 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Norbert Žilka: h-index 39 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Gothenburg: institution h-index 972 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32973122) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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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
Hanes, J., Kovac, A., Kvartsberg, H., Kontsekova, E., Fialova, L., Katina, S., et al. (2020). Evaluation of a novel immunoassay to detect p-tau Thr217 in the CSF to distinguish Alzheimer disease from other dementias. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000010814
Vancouver
Hanes J, Kovac A, Kvartsberg H, Kontsekova E, Fialova L, Katina S, et al. Evaluation of a novel immunoassay to detect p-tau Thr217 in the CSF to distinguish Alzheimer disease from other dementias. Neurology. 2020. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000010814. PMID: 32973122.
BibTeX
@article{hanes2020-32973122,
author = {Hanes, J. and Kovac, A. and Kvartsberg, H. and Kontsekova, E. and Fialova, L. and Katina, S. and Kovacech, B. and Stevens, E. and others},
title = {{Evaluation of a novel immunoassay to detect p-tau Thr217 in the CSF to distinguish Alzheimer disease from other dementias}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000010814},
pmid = {32973122},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000010814}
}
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