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Predicting cognitive decline with amyloid-PET, plasma p-tau217, Aβ42/40, and p-tau217/Aβ42 in a community-based cohort - relevance for clinical trial enrollment
Dario Bachmann, Maha Wybitul, Andreas Buchmann, Christoph Gericke, Antje Saake, Sandro Studer, Katrin Rauen, Esmeralda Gruber et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2025-10
Topic: Plasma and spinal-fluid biomarkers
In the CU, using combined plasma Aβ42/40 and p-tau217 cut-offs for eligibility yielded the lowest sample size estimates for a comprehensive multidomain cognitive composite score, whereas sample sizes were higher for all other inclusion criteria based on single biomarkers. In MCI, estimates were substantially lower and less variable across most inclusion criteria and outcome measures. These findings highlight the need for careful consideration of outcome measures, baseline diagnosis, and inclusion criteria, given their substantial effect on sample size estimation in trials. HIGHLIGHTS: Aβ SUVR, plasma p-tau217, and the p-tau217/Aβ42 ratio predicted decline across multiple cognitive domains. Using cohort-specific biomarker cutoffs, sample size estimates were similar for p-tau217 combined with Aβ42/40 or Aβ SUVR. A multidomain composite best detected AD-related decline. Outcome measures and eligibility criteria strongly impact sample size estimates, especially in CU.
Key findings
- In the CU, using combined plasma Aβ42/40 and p-tau217 cut-offs for eligibility yielded the lowest sample size estimates for a comprehensive multidomain cognitive composite score, whereas sample sizes were higher for all other inclusion criteria based on single biomarkers.
- In MCI, estimates were substantially lower and less variable across most inclusion criteria and outcome measures.
- These findings highlight the need for careful consideration of outcome measures, baseline diagnosis, and inclusion criteria, given their substantial effect on sample size estimation in trials.
- HIGHLIGHTS: Aβ SUVR, plasma p-tau217, and the p-tau217/Aβ42 ratio predicted decline across multiple cognitive domains.
- Using cohort-specific biomarker cutoffs, sample size estimates were similar for p-tau217 combined with Aβ42/40 or Aβ SUVR.
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Study details
- Participants225
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, 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, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 33 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 59 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 | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 225 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 41117398) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 33 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 33 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 59 out of 100. |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
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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'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
Bachmann, D., Wybitul, M., Buchmann, A., Gericke, C., Saake, A., Studer, S., et al. (2025). Predicting cognitive decline with amyloid-PET, plasma p-tau217, Aβ42/40, and p-tau217/Aβ42 in a community-based cohort - relevance for clinical trial enrollment. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70802
Vancouver
Bachmann D, Wybitul M, Buchmann A, Gericke C, Saake A, Studer S, et al. Predicting cognitive decline with amyloid-PET, plasma p-tau217, Aβ42/40, and p-tau217/Aβ42 in a community-based cohort - relevance for clinical trial enrollment. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2025. doi:10.1002/alz.70802. PMID: 41117398.
BibTeX
@article{bachmann2025-41117398,
author = {Bachmann, Dario and Wybitul, Maha and Buchmann, Andreas and Gericke, Christoph and Saake, Antje and Studer, Sandro and Rauen, Katrin and Gruber, Esmeralda and others},
title = {{Predicting cognitive decline with amyloid-PET, plasma p-tau217, Aβ42/40, and p-tau217/Aβ42 in a community-based cohort - relevance for clinical trial enrollment}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/alz.70802},
pmid = {41117398},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70802}
}