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Plasma p‐tau217, NfL, GFAP diagnostic performance and biomarker profiles in Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and psychiatric disorders, in a prospective unselected neuropsychiatry memory clinic
Dhamidhu Eratne, Matthew JY Kang, Charles Benjamin Malpas, Christa Dang, Courtney Lewis, Oneil G. Bhalala, Q.-X. Li, Steven John Collins et al.. Alzheimer s & Dementia, 2025-09-30
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Plasma p-tau217 showed strong diagnostic performance for distinguishing AD from bvFTD (96% accuracy) and PPD (93% accuracy). NfL best distinguished all NDs from PPD, while GFAP did not bring additional value. Biomarker profiles using predefined cut-offs and age-adjusted z-scores further clarified group differences. Plasma p-tau217 and NfL have strong diagnostic utility in real-world, diagnostically complex cohorts. These findings support implementation of scalable blood-based biomarkers to improve early and accurate diagnosis in memory clinical settings. HIGHLIGHTS: Plasma p-tau217 was significantly elevated in AD compared to other disorders. P-tau217 distinguished AD from bvFTD with high accuracy. P-tau217 distinguished AD from PPDs with high accuracy. NfL/p-tau217 ratio and GFAP added limited diagnostic value compared to p-tau217 and NfL. Findings support blood biomarkers in younger, real-world clinical cohorts.
Key findings
- Plasma p-tau217 showed strong diagnostic performance for distinguishing AD from bvFTD (96% accuracy) and PPD (93% accuracy).
- NfL best distinguished all NDs from PPD, while GFAP did not bring additional value.
- Biomarker profiles using predefined cut-offs and age-adjusted z-scores further clarified group differences.
- Plasma p-tau217 and NfL have strong diagnostic utility in real-world, diagnostically complex cohorts.
- These findings support implementation of scalable blood-based biomarkers to improve early and accurate diagnosis in memory clinical settings.
Why it matters
This study found that plasma p-tau217 showed strong diagnostic performance for distinguishing Alzheimer's disease from behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia and psychiatric disorders, and NfL best distinguished all neurodegenerative diseases from psychiatric disorders. It supports blood-based biomarkers for diagnosis but does not offer a treatment or cure.
Study details
- Participants40
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 51/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 49 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 51 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 | 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 | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 40 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 | 3 / 7 | Cited 18 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 6.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 11.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 18 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Wisconsin–Madison: institution h-index 1,518 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 11 institution(s) in 4 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41025379) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 49 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 49 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 51 out of 100. |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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
Eratne, D., Kang, M. J. Y., Malpas, C. B., Dang, C., Lewis, C., Bhalala, O. G., et al. (2025). Plasma p‐tau217, NfL, GFAP diagnostic performance and biomarker profiles in Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and psychiatric disorders, in a prospective unselected neuropsychiatry memory clinic. Alzheimer s & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70717
Vancouver
Eratne D, Kang MJY, Malpas CB, Dang C, Lewis C, Bhalala OG, et al. Plasma p‐tau217, NfL, GFAP diagnostic performance and biomarker profiles in Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and psychiatric disorders, in a prospective unselected neuropsychiatry memory clinic. Alzheimer s & Dementia. 2025. doi:10.1002/alz.70717. PMID: 41025379.
BibTeX
@article{eratne2025-41025379,
author = {Eratne, Dhamidhu and Kang, Matthew JY and Malpas, Charles Benjamin and Dang, Christa and Lewis, Courtney and Bhalala, Oneil G. and Li, Q.-X. and Collins, Steven John and others},
title = {{Plasma p‐tau217, NfL, GFAP diagnostic performance and biomarker profiles in Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and psychiatric disorders, in a prospective unselected neuropsychiatry memory clinic}},
journal = {Alzheimer s \& Dementia},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/alz.70717},
pmid = {41025379},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70717}
}
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