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Integration of plasma eMTBR-tau243 and p-tau217 in the diagnosis and stratification of Alzheimer's disease: a prospective cohort study
Niklas Mattsson-Carlgren, Sebastian Palmqvist, Kanta Horie, Nicolas Barthélemy, Gemma Salvadó, Alexa Pichet Binette, Pontus Tideman, John C Morris, et al.. The Lancet. Neurology, 2026-04
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Methods In this prospective cohort study, we included adults aged 40 years or older with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, or dementia, based on cognitive test results and clinical assessments, consecutively recruited at two memory clinics in Sweden, as part of the Swedish BioFINDER-2 study. We validated our findings in a cohort of patients from the Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center (ARDC), which included individuals determined to be cognitively unimpaired or to have cognitive impairment. Positive eMTBR-tau243 was associated with worse longitudinal cognitive decline and longitudinal tau tangle accumulation in %p-tau217 positive patients.
Key findings
- Methods In this prospective cohort study, we included adults aged 40 years or older with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, or dementia, based on cognitive test results and clinical assessments, consecutively recruited at two memory clinics in Sweden, as part of the Swedish BioFINDER-2 study.
- We validated our findings in a cohort of patients from the Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center (ARDC), which included individuals determined to be cognitively unimpaired or to have cognitive impairment.
- Positive eMTBR-tau243 was associated with worse longitudinal cognitive decline and longitudinal tau tangle accumulation in %p-tau217 positive patients.
Why it matters
In this cohort of people with memory complaints or impairment, a positive result for the marker eMTBR-tau243 was linked to worse cognitive decline and more tau accumulation over time in those who already tested positive for p-tau217. This suggests the marker may help identify which patients are likely to worsen, but it is a cohort finding rather than a proven clinical test.
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Study details
- Study designcohort
- Participants572
- Effect sizeeMTBR-tau243 for established Alzheimer's among %p-tau217-positive patients: accuracy 81% (95% CI 76-84), PPV 84% (78-88), NPV 77% (68-82)
- Evidence strengthHigh
Limitations
Specialist memory clinics in Sweden and one US research centre; mass-spectrometry assays not yet widely available; thresholds were pre-specified but may need recalibration in primary care.
How this study scored 72/100
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 senior author's track record and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 68 of the 94 points we could judge it on, which is 72 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The Lancet. Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | The Lancet Neurology: journal h-index 457 (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 | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 572 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 | 3 / 7 | Cited 15 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.5 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 70.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 15 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author O. Hansson holds only 3 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Washington University in St. Louis: institution h-index 1,962 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 4 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41864233) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 68 / 94 | Scored on 18 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 68 of the 94 points we could judge it on is 72 out of 100. |
| Total | 72 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/S1474-4422(26)00029-3
- PubMed: 41864233
- 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
Mattsson-Carlgren, N., Palmqvist, S., Horie, K., Barthélemy, N., Salvadó, G., Binette, A. P., et al. (2026). Integration of plasma eMTBR-tau243 and p-tau217 in the diagnosis and stratification of Alzheimer's disease: a prospective cohort study. The Lancet. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(26)00029-3
Vancouver
Mattsson-Carlgren N, Palmqvist S, Horie K, Barthélemy N, Salvadó G, Binette AP, et al. Integration of plasma eMTBR-tau243 and p-tau217 in the diagnosis and stratification of Alzheimer's disease: a prospective cohort study. The Lancet. Neurology. 2026. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(26)00029-3. PMID: 41864233.
BibTeX
@article{mattssoncarlgren2026-41864233,
author = {Mattsson-Carlgren, Niklas and Palmqvist, Sebastian and Horie, Kanta and Barthélemy, Nicolas and Salvadó, Gemma and Binette, Alexa Pichet and Tideman, Pontus and Morris, John C and others},
title = {{Integration of plasma eMTBR-tau243 and p-tau217 in the diagnosis and stratification of Alzheimer's disease: a prospective cohort study}},
journal = {The Lancet. Neurology},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1016/S1474-4422(26)00029-3},
pmid = {41864233},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(26)00029-3}
}
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