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55/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Biomarkers

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

The study included 560 amyloid-positive participants (BioFINDER: n = 431; mean [SD] age, 73.6 [7.0] years; 212 female [49.2%] and 219 male [51.8%]; TRIAD: n = 129; mean [SD] age, 70.4 [8.3] years; 76 female [58.9%] and 53 male [41.1%]). Using multivariable logistic regression approaches, a 7-protein panel was found in BioFINDER to identify tau PET uptake within Braak stage V and VI regions. When compared with p-tau217 (AUC, 0.86-0.88; 95% CI, 0.82-0.94), this multiprotein panel was associated with improved identification in both discovery and validation cohorts (AUC, 0.92-0.94; 95% CI, 0.89-0.98; DeLong P < .001). This reduced the proportion of individuals classified within the intermediate-risk range (between paired sensitivity and specificity thresholds) in the validation cohort by 14.7% to 21.0%. Conclusions and Relevance: This multicohort study demonstrated how including additional plasma proteins significantly enhanced the performance of p-tau217 in predicting advanced tau pathology among amyloid-positive individuals. This suggests a multiprotein approach may offer a viable and scalable alternative to tau PET staging in clinical or research settings.

Key findings

The study included 560 amyloid-positive participants (BioFINDER: n = 431; mean [SD] age, 73.6 [7.0] years; 212 female [49.2%] and 219 male [51.8%]; TRIAD: n = 129; mean [SD] age, 70.4 [8.3] years; 76 female [58.9%] and 53 male [41.1%]).
Using multivariable logistic regression approaches, a 7-protein panel was found in BioFINDER to identify tau PET uptake within Braak stage V and VI regions.
When compared with p-tau217 (AUC, 0.86-0.88; 95% CI, 0.82-0.94), this multiprotein panel was associated with improved identification in both discovery and validation cohorts (AUC, 0.92-0.94; 95% CI, 0.89-0.98; DeLong P < .001).
This reduced the proportion of individuals classified within the intermediate-risk range (between paired sensitivity and specificity thresholds) in the validation cohort by 14.7% to 21.0%.
Conclusions and Relevance: This multicohort study demonstrated how including additional plasma proteins significantly enhanced the performance of p-tau217 in predicting advanced tau pathology among amyloid-positive individuals.

Why it matters

A panel of 7 plasma proteins identified advanced tau pathology in amyloid-positive people better than p-tau217 alone, and reduced the number of people falling into an uncertain intermediate-risk range. This suggests a blood-based multiprotein test may offer a scalable alternative to tau PET staging in clinical or research settings.

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Study details

Study designcohort study
Participants431
Effect size49.2%; 51.8%; 58.9%
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 55/100

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.

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	5 / 5	2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	2 / 4	431 participants
Effect reported	2 / 3	Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test
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	0 / 7	Cited 0 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	0 / 5	0.0 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026
Impact for its field and year	0 / 6	Cited 0.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	0 / 6	No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited	0 / 4	Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Nicholas James Ashton: h-index 91 (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 20 institution(s) in 5 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 42573994)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	55 / 100	—

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Read the original

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

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

Di Molfetta, G., Brum, W. S., Pola, I., Tan, K., Benedet, A. L., Sauer, M., et al. (2026). Plasma Biomarkers for Neocortical Tau Burden. JAMA Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2026.2650

Vancouver

Di Molfetta G, Brum WS, Pola I, Tan K, Benedet AL, Sauer M, et al. Plasma Biomarkers for Neocortical Tau Burden. JAMA Neurology. 2026. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2026.2650. PMID: 42573994.

BibTeX

@article{dimolfetta2026-42573994,
  author  = {Di Molfetta, Guglielmo and Brum, Wagner Scheeren and Pola, Ilaria and Tan, Kübra and Benedet, Andréa Lessa and Sauer, Mathias and Montoliu‐Gaya, Laia and Janelidze, Shorena and others},
  title   = {{Plasma Biomarkers for Neocortical Tau Burden}},
  journal = {JAMA Neurology},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2026.2650},
  pmid    = {42573994},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2026.2650}
}

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