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A longitudinal examination of plasma neurofilament light and total tau for the clinical detection and monitoring of Alzheimer's disease

Sugarman, MA; Zetterberg, H; Blennow, K; Tripodis, Y; McKee, AC; Stein, TD; Martin, B; ... Alosco, ML; + view all (2020) A longitudinal examination of plasma neurofilament light and total tau for the clinical detection and monitoring of Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiology of Aging , 94 pp. 60-70. 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.05.011. Green open access

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Abstract

We examined baseline and longitudinal associations between plasma neurofilament light (NfL) and total tau (t-tau), and the clinical presentation of Alzheimer's disease (AD). A total of 579 participants (238, normal cognition [NC]; 185, mild cognitive impairment [MCI]; 156, AD dementia) had baseline blood draws; 82% had follow-up evaluations. Plasma samples were analyzed for NfL and t-tau using Simoa technology. Baseline plasma NfL was higher in AD dementia than MCI (standardized mean difference = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.37–0.73) and NC (standardized mean difference = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.49–0.88), corresponded to Clinical Dementia Rating scores (OR = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.35–2.79]), and correlated with all neuropsychological tests (r's = 0.13–0.42). Longitudinally, NfL did not predict diagnostic conversion but predicted decline on 3/10 neuropsychological tests. Baseline plasma t-tau was higher in AD dementia than NC with a small effect (standardized mean difference = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.10–0.57) but not MCI. t-tau did not statistically significant predict any longitudinal outcomes. Plasma NfL may be useful for the detection of AD dementia and monitoring of disease progression. In contrast, there was minimal evidence in support of plasma t-tau.

Type: Article
Title: A longitudinal examination of plasma neurofilament light and total tau for the clinical detection and monitoring of Alzheimer's disease
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.05.011
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.05...
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Plasma biomarkers, Neurofilament light, Total tau, Alzheimer's disease
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Neurodegenerative Diseases
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10104152
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