AD/PD 2022 | The accuracy of plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease outside of a controlled setting

Nicholas Ashton, PhD, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden and King’s College London, London, UK, discusses the importance of looking at the accuracy and robustness of plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease outside of a controlled trial setting. Indeed, plasma Aβ42/40 often performs the best cross-sectionally in research cohorts. However, the difference in blood Aβ between those with pathology and those without is only 10-15%, meaning a moderate change in assay variability could greatly influence the result. Meanwhile, despite lower overall accuracy, phosphorylated tau (p-tau) is highly robust and thus could work better in clinical routine or therapeutic trial settings. This interview took place at the AD/PD 2022 International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases hosted in Barcelona, Spain.