This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

66/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 66 out of 100. Biomarkers

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Importance Plasma phosphorylated tau217 (p-tau217), a biomarker of Alzheimer disease (AD), is of special interest in corticobasal syndrome (CBS) because autopsy studies have revealed AD is the driving neuropathology in up to 40% of cases. This differentiates CBS from other 4-repeat tauopathy (4RT)-associated syndromes, such as progressive supranuclear palsy Richardson syndrome (PSP-RS) and nonfluent primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA), where underlying frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is typically the primary neuropathology. Objective To validate plasma p-tau217 against positron emission tomography (PET) in 4RT-associated syndromes, especially CBS. Design, setting, and participants This multicohort study with 6, 12, and 24-month follow-up recruited adult participants between January 2011 and September 2020 from 8 tertiary care centers in the 4RT Neuroimaging Initiative (4RTNI). All participants with CBS (n = 113), PSP-RS (n = 121), and nfvPPA (n = 39) were included; other diagnoses were excluded due to rarity (n = 29). Individuals with PET-confirmed AD (n = 54) and PET-negative cognitively normal control individuals (n = 59) were evaluated at University of California San Francisco. Operators were blinded to the cohort. Main outcome and measures Plasma p-tau217, measured by Meso Scale Discovery electrochemiluminescence, was validated against amyloid-β (Aβ) and flortaucipir (FTP) PET. Imaging analyses used voxel-based morphometry and bayesian linear mixed-effects modeling. Clinical biomarker associations were evaluated using longitudinal mixed-effect modeling. Results Of 386 participants, 199 (52%) were female, and the mean (SD) age was 68 (8) years. Plasma p-tau217 was elevated in patients with CBS with positive Aβ PET results (mean [SD], 0.57 [0.43] pg/mL) or FTP PET (mean [SD], 0.75 [0.30] pg/mL) to concentrations comparable to control individuals with AD (mean [SD], 0.72 [0.37]), whereas PSP-RS and nfvPPA showed no increase relative to control. Within CBS, p-tau217 had excellent diagnostic performance with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for Aβ PET of 0.87 (95% CI, 0.76-0.98; P Conclusions and relevance In this cohort study, plasma p-tau217 had excellent diagnostic performance for identifying Aβ or FTP PET positivity within CBS with likely underlying AD pathology. Plasma P-tau217 may be a useful and inexpensive biomarker to select patients for CBS clinical trials.

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

APA 7th

VandeVrede, L., La Joie, R., Thijssen, E. H., Asken, B. M., Vento, S. A., Tsuei, T., et al. (2023). Evaluation of Plasma Phosphorylated Tau217 for Differentiation Between Alzheimer Disease and Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Subtypes Among Patients With Corticobasal Syndrome. JAMA neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.0488

Vancouver

VandeVrede L, La Joie R, Thijssen EH, Asken BM, Vento SA, Tsuei T, et al. Evaluation of Plasma Phosphorylated Tau217 for Differentiation Between Alzheimer Disease and Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Subtypes Among Patients With Corticobasal Syndrome. JAMA neurology. 2023. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.0488. PMID: 37010841.

BibTeX

@article{vandevrede2023-37010841,
  author  = {VandeVrede, L. and La Joie, R. and Thijssen, E. H. and Asken, B. M. and Vento, S. A. and Tsuei, T. and Baker, S. L. and Cobigo, Y. and others},
  title   = {{Evaluation of Plasma Phosphorylated Tau217 for Differentiation Between Alzheimer Disease and Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Subtypes Among Patients With Corticobasal Syndrome}},
  journal = {JAMA neurology},
  year    = {2023},
  doi     = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.0488},
  pmid    = {37010841},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.0488}
}

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

Importance Plasma phosphorylated tau217 (p-tau217), a biomarker of Alzheimer disease (AD), is of special interest in corticobasal syndrome (CBS) because autopsy studies have revealed AD is the driving neuropathology in up to 40% of cases.
Results Of 386 participants, 199 (52%) were female, and the mean (SD) age was 68 (8) years.
Plasma p-tau217 was elevated in patients with CBS with positive Aβ PET results (mean [SD], 0.57 [0.43] pg/mL) or FTP PET (mean [SD], 0.75 [0.30] pg/mL) to concentrations comparable to control individuals with AD (mean [SD], 0.72 [0.37]), whereas PSP-RS and nfvPPA showed no increase relative to control.

Why it matters

Plasma p-tau217 was elevated in patients with corticobasal syndrome who had positive amyloid or tau PET results, helping distinguish Alzheimer's disease from other 4-repeat tauopathy syndromes. This is about improving diagnosis, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Blood tests & biomarkers →

Study details

Study designcohort study
Participants113
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 66/100

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

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	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	3 / 5	2023 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	2 / 4	113 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	1 / 2	Blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record)
Times cited	4 / 7	Cited 43 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	8.6 citations a year over 5 year(s) since 2023
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 7.7× 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 43 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Adam L. Boxer: h-index 98 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Johns Hopkins University: institution h-index 2,306 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	3 / 3	OpenAlex lists 16 institution(s) in 3 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 37010841)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	66 / 100	—

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

Read the original

Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 19.

Later studies that cite this one

5 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.

Related studies in Biomarkers

Also tagged “phosphorylated”

732 studies in the library carry the topic tag “phosphorylated”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 732 tagged studies.

Similar studies

More on Biomarkers

See all studies in Biomarkers →