This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

68/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 68 out of 100. Biomarkers

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Results Across the 5 cohorts, there were a total of 1292 participants (63.6% women; mean age, 70.6 [SD, 6.4] years) with tau PET assessments. Compared with men, women had significantly higher baseline p-tau217 levels at higher aggregated Aβ Centiloid levels (β, -0.21 [95% CI, -0.37 to -0.05], P = .009; highest interaction was found in the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's Disease/Longitudinal Evaluation of Amyloid Risk and Neurodegeneration [A4/LEARN] cohort). The sex × p-tau217 interactions at baseline were significant for 1 tau PET region in the Harvard Aging Brain Study (HABS) cohort, for 2 tau PET regions in the A4/LEARN cohort, for 6 tau PET regions in the Wisconsin Registry of Alzheimer's Prevention (WRAP) cohort, and for 4 tau PET regions in the Presymptomatic Evaluation of Experimental or Novel Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease (PREVENT-AD) cohort. Longitudinal interactions were significant for 4 tau PET regions in the A4/LEARN cohort, for 5 tau PET regions in both the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort and the WRAP cohort, and for 2 PET regions in both the HABS cohort and the PREVENT-AD cohort. Compared with men, women displayed greater tau deposition and accumulation at higher p-tau217 levels. Conclusion and relevance These findings add to growing evidence that women have a differential tau response to Aβ that may emerge at the point of p-tau secretion. These findings have implications for the therapeutics and diagnostics of preclinical Alzheimer disease.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Coughlan, G. T., Ourry, V., Townsend, D., Klinger, H., Brown, J. A., Cuppels, M., et al. (2026). Sex Differences in P-Tau217, Tau Aggregation, and Cognitive Decline. JAMA neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.5670

Vancouver

Coughlan GT, Ourry V, Townsend D, Klinger H, Brown JA, Cuppels M, et al. Sex Differences in P-Tau217, Tau Aggregation, and Cognitive Decline. JAMA neurology. 2026. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.5670. PMID: 41697669.

BibTeX

@article{coughlan2026-41697669,
  author  = {Coughlan, Gillian T and Ourry, Valentin and Townsend, Diana and Klinger, Hannah and Brown, Jane A and Cuppels, Madison and Betthauser, Tobey and Langhough, Rebecca and others},
  title   = {{Sex Differences in P-Tau217, Tau Aggregation, and Cognitive Decline}},
  journal = {JAMA neurology},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.5670},
  pmid    = {41697669},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.5670}
}

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.

Key findings

Results Across the 5 cohorts, there were a total of 1292 participants (63.6% women; mean age, 70.6 [SD, 6.4] years) with tau PET assessments.
Compared with men, women had significantly higher baseline p-tau217 levels at higher aggregated Aβ Centiloid levels (β, -0.21 [95% CI, -0.37 to -0.05], P = .009; highest interaction was found in the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's Disease/Longitudinal Evaluation of Amyloid Risk and Neurodegeneration [A4/LEARN] cohort).
The sex × p-tau217 interactions at baseline were significant for 1 tau PET region in the Harvard Aging Brain Study (HABS) cohort, for 2 tau PET regions in the A4/LEARN cohort, for 6 tau PET regions in the Wisconsin Registry of Alzheimer's Prevention (WRAP) cohort, and for 4 tau PET regions in the Presymptomatic Evaluation of Experimental or Novel Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease (PREVENT-AD) cohort.
Longitudinal interactions were significant for 4 tau PET regions in the A4/LEARN cohort, for 5 tau PET regions in both the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort and the WRAP cohort, and for 2 PET regions in both the HABS cohort and the PREVENT-AD cohort.
Compared with men, women displayed greater tau deposition and accumulation at higher p-tau217 levels.

Why it matters

Across five cohorts, women had higher blood p-tau217 levels than men at higher amyloid levels and showed greater tau buildup in several brain regions. The authors say this adds to evidence that women have a different tau response to amyloid, which may emerge early in the disease process.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Blood tests & biomarkers →

Study details

Study designcohort
Participants1,292
Effect sizeSex x amyloid interaction on baseline p-tau217: beta -0.21 (95% CI -0.37 to -0.05; P=.009), women higher
Evidence strengthModerate

Limitations

Region-by-region significance varied across cohorts; cognitive data available in only three cohorts; predominantly white research volunteers; observational, so mechanism is inferred.

How this study scored 68/100

Published in a leading specialty 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 free to read, so that was left out: it earned 67 of the 98 points we could judge it on, which is 68 out of 100.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA neurology)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	JAMA Neurology: journal h-index 235 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
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	3 / 4	1,292 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	2 / 7	Cited 10 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	5.0 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026
Impact for its field and year	6 / 6	Cited 47.2× 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	1 / 4	Cited 10 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Maxime Descoteaux: h-index 63 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	3 / 3	Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 9 institution(s) in 3 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41697669)
Free to read	— / 2	Access not recorded — left out of this score
Points	67 / 98	Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 67 of the 98 points we could judge it on is 68 out of 100.
Total	68 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

Full text: free to read — Unpaywall lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 28.

Later studies that cite this one

1 study in the alzhub library lists this one in its references.

Related studies in Biomarkers

Also tagged “phosphorylated”

732 studies in the library carry the topic tag “phosphorylated”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 732 tagged studies.

Similar studies

More on Biomarkers

See all studies in Biomarkers →