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Plasma phospho‐tau181 increases with Alzheimer's disease clinical severity and is associated with tau‐ and amyloid‐positron emission tomography
Michelle M. Mielke, Clinton E. Hagen, Jing Xu, Xiyun Chai, Prashanthi Vemuri, Val J. Lowe, David C. Airey, David S. Knopman, Rosebud O. Roberts, Mary M. Machulda, Clifford R. Jack, Ronald Carl Petersen, Jeffrey L. Dage. Alzheimer s & Dementia, 2018-04-04
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
INTRODUCTION: We examined and compared plasma phospho-tau181 (pTau181) and total tau: (1) across the Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical spectrum; (2) in relation to brain amyloid β (Aβ) positron emission tomography (PET), tau PET, and cortical thickness; and (3) as a screening tool for elevated brain Aβ. METHODS: Participants included 172 cognitively unimpaired, 57 mild cognitively impaired, and 40 AD dementia patients with concurrent Aβ PET (Pittsburgh compound B), tau PET (AV1451), magnetic resonance imaging, plasma total tau, and pTau181. RESULTS: Plasma total tau and pTau181 levels were higher in AD dementia patients than those in cognitively unimpaired. Plasma pTau181 was more strongly associated with both Aβ and tau PET. Plasma pTau181 was a more sensitive and specific predictor of elevated brain Aβ than total tau and was as good as, or better than, the combination of age and apolipoprotein E (APOE). DISCUSSION: Plasma pTau181 may have utility as a biomarker of AD pathophysiology and as a noninvasive screener for elevated brain Aβ.
Why it matters
Among 172 cognitively unimpaired people, 57 with mild cognitive impairment and 40 with Alzheimer's dementia, blood levels of phospho-tau181 were higher in dementia and more strongly associated with amyloid and tau PET scans than total tau. The authors suggest plasma pTau181 may be useful as a noninvasive screen for elevated brain amyloid.
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How this study scored 54/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on strength of evidence, so that was left out: it earned 51 of the 95 points we could judge it on, which is 54 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer s & Dementia) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (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 | — / 5 | No evidence rating recorded — left out of this score |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 622 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 62.2 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 37.9× 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 | 4 / 4 | Cited 235 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Jeffrey L. Dage: h-index 50 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Mayo Clinic: institution h-index 1,606 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 29626426) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 51 / 95 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 51 of the 95 points we could judge it on is 54 out of 100. |
| Total | 54 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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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 names 13 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Mielke, M. M., Hagen, C. E., Xu, J., Chai, X., Vemuri, P., Lowe, V. J., et al. (2018). Plasma phospho‐tau181 increases with Alzheimer's disease clinical severity and is associated with tau‐ and amyloid‐positron emission tomography. Alzheimer s & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2018.02.013
Vancouver
Mielke MM, Hagen CE, Xu J, Chai X, Vemuri P, Lowe VJ, et al. Plasma phospho‐tau181 increases with Alzheimer's disease clinical severity and is associated with tau‐ and amyloid‐positron emission tomography. Alzheimer s & Dementia. 2018. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2018.02.013. PMID: 29626426.
BibTeX
@article{mielke2018-29626426,
author = {Mielke, Michelle M. and Hagen, Clinton E. and Xu, Jing and Chai, Xiyun and Vemuri, Prashanthi and Lowe, Val J. and Airey, David C. and Knopman, David S. and Roberts, Rosebud O. and Machulda, Mary M. and Jack, Clifford R. and Petersen, Ronald Carl and Dage, Jeffrey L.},
title = {{Plasma phospho‐tau181 increases with Alzheimer's disease clinical severity and is associated with tau‐ and amyloid‐positron emission tomography}},
journal = {Alzheimer s \& Dementia},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1016/j.jalz.2018.02.013},
pmid = {29626426},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2018.02.013}
}
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