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Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid tau and neurofilament concentrations in rapidly progressive neurological syndromes: a neuropathology-based cohort
Kovacs GG, Andreasson U, Liman V, Regelsberger G, Lutz MI, Danics K, Keller E, Zetterberg H et al.. European journal of neurology, 2017-08-16
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Background and purpose Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tau and neurofilament light chain (NF-L) proteins have proved to be reliable biomarkers for neuronal damage; however, there is a strong need for blood-based tests. Methods The present study included 132 autopsy cases with rapidly progressive neurological syndromes, including Alzheimer disease (AD) (21), sporadic (65) and genetic (21) Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), 25 cases with vascular, neoplastic and inflammatory alterations, and additionally 18 healthy control individuals. CSF tau and NF-L concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Plasma tau and NF-L concentrations were measured using ultra-sensitive single molecule array technology. Results Plasma and CSF tau (R = 0.59, P Conclusion Plasma tau and NF-L concentrations are strongly increased in CJD and show similar diagnostic performance to the corresponding CSF measure. Molecular subtypes of sporadic CJD show different levels of plasma tau. Although not disease-specific, these findings support the use of plasma tau and NF-L as tools to identify, or to rule out, neurodegeneration.
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APA 7th
Kovacs, G. G., Andreasson, U., Liman, V., Regelsberger, G., Lutz, M. I., Danics, K., et al. (2017). Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid tau and neurofilament concentrations in rapidly progressive neurological syndromes: a neuropathology-based cohort. European journal of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.13389
Vancouver
Kovacs GG, Andreasson U, Liman V, Regelsberger G, Lutz MI, Danics K, et al. Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid tau and neurofilament concentrations in rapidly progressive neurological syndromes: a neuropathology-based cohort. European journal of neurology. 2017. doi:10.1111/ene.13389. PMID: 28816001.
BibTeX
@article{kovacs2017-28816001,
author = {Kovacs, G. G. and Andreasson, U. and Liman, V. and Regelsberger, G. and Lutz, M. I. and Danics, K. and Keller, E. and Zetterberg, H. and others},
title = {{Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid tau and neurofilament concentrations in rapidly progressive neurological syndromes: a neuropathology-based cohort}},
journal = {European journal of neurology},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1111/ene.13389},
pmid = {28816001},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.13389}
}
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Key findings
- Results Plasma and CSF tau (R = 0.59, P Conclusion Plasma tau and NF-L concentrations are strongly increased in CJD and show similar diagnostic performance to the corresponding CSF measure.
- Although not disease-specific, these findings support the use of plasma tau and NF-L as tools to identify, or to rule out, neurodegeneration.
Why it matters
In this autopsy-based cohort, plasma tau and neurofilament light were strongly increased in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and showed similar diagnostic performance to the corresponding cerebrospinal fluid measures. The authors state these markers are not disease-specific and support their use to identify or rule out neurodegeneration, not to treat, cure or prevent Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Participants132
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (European journal of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | European Journal of Neurology: journal h-index 181 (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 | 2017 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 132 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 90 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 8.2 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.8× 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 | 1 / 4 | Cited 10 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Kaj Blennow: h-index 220 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 4 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28816001) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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