AAIC 2021 | The potential of plasma biomarkers in dementia

Stephen Salloway, MD, MS, of Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, explains how plasma biomarker testing could be a significant advancement in the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Current diagnostic methods, such as cerebrospinal fluid biomarker analysis and amyloid PET scans, are expensive, invasive, and not widely available. Therefore, the development of a blood test which detect amyloid beta or phosphorylated tau could be the way forward. Plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio and pTau-217 both give a good indication of the build-up of pathology in the brain. These tests could be beneficial in disease screening, diagnosis, and treatment effect monitoring. Further investigations are needed to refine these biomarkers and introduce them in a clinical setting. This interview took place during the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2021.