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Plasma phosphorylated tau-217 exhibits sex-specific prognostication of cognitive decline and brain atrophy in cognitively unimpaired adults
Saloner R, VandeVrede L, Asken BM, Paolillo EW, Gontrum EQ, Wolf A, Lario-Lago A, Milà-Alomà M et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2023-08-28
Topic: Plasma and spinal-fluid biomarkers
Introduction Accumulating evidence indicates disproportionate tau burden and tau-related clinical progression in females. However, sex differences in plasma phosphorylated tau (p-tau)217 prediction of subclinical cognitive and brain changes are unknown. Methods We measured baseline plasma p-tau217, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neurofilament light (NfL) in 163 participants (85 cognitively unimpaired [CU], 78 mild cognitive impairment [MCI]). In CU, linear mixed effects models examined sex differences in plasma biomarker prediction of longitudinal domain-specific cognitive decline and brain atrophy. Cognitive models were repeated in MCI. Results In CU females, baseline plasma p-tau217 predicted verbal memory and medial temporal lobe trajectories such that trajectories significantly declined once p-tau217 concentrations surpassed 0.053 pg/ml, a threshold that corresponded to early levels of cortical amyloid aggregation in secondary amyloid positron emission tomography analyses. CU males exhibited similar rates of cognitive decline and brain atrophy, but these trajectories were not dependent on plasma p-tau217. Plasma GFAP and NfL exhibited similar female-specific prediction of medial temporal lobe atrophy in CU. Plasma p-tau217 exhibited comparable prediction of cognitive decline across sex in MCI. Discussion Plasma p-tau217 may capture earlier Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related cognitive and brain atrophy hallmarks in females compared to males, possibly reflective of increased susceptibility to AD pathophysiology.
Key findings
- Results In CU females, baseline plasma p-tau217 predicted verbal memory and medial temporal lobe trajectories such that trajectories significantly declined once p-tau217 concentrations surpassed 0.053 pg/ml, a threshold that corresponded to early levels of cortical amyloid aggregation in secondary amyloid positron emission tomography analyses.
- Discussion Plasma p-tau217 may capture earlier Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related cognitive and brain atrophy hallmarks in females compared to males, possibly reflective of increased susceptibility to AD pathophysiology.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants163
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 69/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 40 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 69 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same 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 | 4 / 5 | 2024 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 163 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 | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 37639492) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 40 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 40 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 69 out of 100. |
| Total | 69 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Saloner, R., VandeVrede, L., Asken, B. M., Paolillo, E. W., Gontrum, E. Q., Wolf, A., et al. (2024). Plasma phosphorylated tau-217 exhibits sex-specific prognostication of cognitive decline and brain atrophy in cognitively unimpaired adults. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13454
Vancouver
Saloner R, VandeVrede L, Asken BM, Paolillo EW, Gontrum EQ, Wolf A, et al. Plasma phosphorylated tau-217 exhibits sex-specific prognostication of cognitive decline and brain atrophy in cognitively unimpaired adults. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2024. doi:10.1002/alz.13454. PMID: 37639492.
BibTeX
@article{saloner2024-37639492,
author = {Saloner, R. and VandeVrede, L. and Asken, B. M. and Paolillo, E. W. and Gontrum, E. Q. and Wolf, A. and Lario-Lago, A. and Milà-Alomà, M. and others},
title = {{Plasma phosphorylated tau-217 exhibits sex-specific prognostication of cognitive decline and brain atrophy in cognitively unimpaired adults}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1002/alz.13454},
pmid = {37639492},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13454}
}