The work, published in the magazine Neurologyreinforces the role of blood tests in the future of the diagnosis and monitoring of dementias. The study, conducted within the framework of the Spin cohort (Sant Pau Initiative on Neurodegeneration), included 731 people with and without cognitive deterioration in a row during an average of up to 10 years. The researchers analyzed the levels of p-tau217 – a specific form of the Tau protein associated with neurodegeneration – and observed that this biomarker not only correlates with the presence of Alzheimer’s, but also allows anticipate the pace of cognitive deterioration and conversion to the most advanced phases of the diseaseincluding dementia.
“This marker has enormous potential as a clinical tool. Not only does Alzheimer’s disease identify precisely, but also allows us to estimate its speed of progression, something key to making therapeutic decisions,” says Dr. Ignacio Illánresearcher of the group of Dementia neurobiology and neurologist at the Sant Pau hospital and directed by the study.
For its part, Judit Selma-Gonzalezfirst author and neuropsychologist researcher, also of the dementia neurobiology group, emphasizes that “one of the most relevant findings is that P-TAU217 allows you to identify people who They still have no cognitive symptomsbut they have a greater risk of developing it in the short or medium term. This can help us better select candidates to participate in clinical trials of disease -modifying treatments. ”
An accessible alternative
Until now, the most reliable biomarkers to detect and monitor the Alzheimer’s required invasive techniques such as lumbar puncture (to analyze the cerebrospinal fluid) or expensive such as positron emission tomography (PET). The use of P-tau217 in plasma supposes a non -invasive, more accessible and economical alternativewith both clinical and research applications.
The study could be verified as P-TAU217 levels progressively increased from the preclinical phases to the advanced phases of dementia, and that were associated independently with a greater risk of cognitive impairment (measured, among others, with the mini-methntary state examination) and conversion to dementia. In fact, the marker showed better prognostic capacity than its equivalent in cerebrospinal fluid, P-TAU181, widely used today.
Clinical applications and promising future
This advance has special relevance in the current context, in which disease-modifying treatments are already being approved, such as anti-amyloid antibodies, whose use is conditioned by the Alzheimer’s evolution phase. The possibility of using a blood analysis to determine that clinical stage, and to monitor the progression, supposes An important step towards a more personalized and precise medicine.
“In a memory consultation, to be able to access this information through a blood analytics opens possibilities that until now were reserved for highly specialized centers,” says Dr. Ignacio Illán.
Reference article:
Selma-Gonzalez Barroeta I, Saints-Santos M, Alzheimer’s deterioration. Neurology 2025; 105: e213769. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000213769.
Fuente: St. Paul Research Institute