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Predictive value of plasma p-tau217 for Alzheimer's dementia compared to other blood-based biomarkers
Kira Trares, Deniz Duman, Léon Beyer, Johannes C Michaelian, Hannah Stocker, Bernd Holleczek, Konrad Beyreuther, Ben Schöttker et al.. EMBO molecular medicine, 2026-07-16
Topic: Plasma and spinal-fluid biomarkers
Phosphorylated-tau (p-tau217) is a promising blood-based biomarker for Alzheimer's dementia (AD) in clinical settings. However, research from prospective cohort studies is sparse. We measured plasma p-tau217 levels in baseline blood samples of 779 participants in a population-based cohort of older adults followed over 17 years. Associations with AD were assessed and compared to those with previous measurements of p-tau181, neurofilament light chain (NfL), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Comparisons to the amyloid beta (Aβ) misfolding biomarker were performed in a subgroup analysis. P-tau217, NfL and GFAP showed strong associations with AD risk, especially within the first 9 years of follow-up, outperforming p-tau181. Over the later years of follow-up, the predictive accuracy of p-tau217 was significantly reduced. In contrast, the Aβ misfolding biomarker demonstrated superior performance especially as a preclinical indicator of the risk of AD many years before diagnosis. The combination of p-tau217 with NfL, GFAP, basic demographic and genetic information, as well as the misfolding biomarker yielded an AUC 0.86 for AD diagnoses over the entire 17-year follow-up period.
Key findings
- Associations with AD were assessed and compared to those with previous measurements of p-tau181, neurofilament light chain (NfL), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).
- Over the later years of follow-up, the predictive accuracy of p-tau217 was significantly reduced.
- In contrast, the Aβ misfolding biomarker demonstrated superior performance especially as a preclinical indicator of the risk of AD many years before diagnosis.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants779
- Effect sizeAUC 0.86
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 75/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for 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 42 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 75 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (EMBO molecular medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| 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 | 779 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| 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 42463545) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 42 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 42 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 75 out of 100. |
| Total | 75 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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APA 7th
Trares, K., Duman, D., Beyer, L., Michaelian, J. C., Stocker, H., Holleczek, B., et al. (2026). Predictive value of plasma p-tau217 for Alzheimer's dementia compared to other blood-based biomarkers. EMBO molecular medicine. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44321-026-00483-9
Vancouver
Trares K, Duman D, Beyer L, Michaelian JC, Stocker H, Holleczek B, et al. Predictive value of plasma p-tau217 for Alzheimer's dementia compared to other blood-based biomarkers. EMBO molecular medicine. 2026. doi:10.1038/s44321-026-00483-9. PMID: 42463545.
BibTeX
@article{trares2026-42463545,
author = {Trares, Kira and Duman, Deniz and Beyer, Léon and Michaelian, Johannes C and Stocker, Hannah and Holleczek, Bernd and Beyreuther, Konrad and Schöttker, Ben and others},
title = {{Predictive value of plasma p-tau217 for Alzheimer's dementia compared to other blood-based biomarkers}},
journal = {EMBO molecular medicine},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1038/s44321-026-00483-9},
pmid = {42463545},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s44321-026-00483-9}
}
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