Markers able to reliably predict future tau burden are crucial to enable subjects at risk of longitudinal tau accumulation to be enrolled in clinical trials of tau-targeting agents. Alexis Moscoso, PhD, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, discusses results from a study looking at the association of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma biomarkers with longitudinal tau accumulation. Cognitively impaired (CI) and cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals were enrolled from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. The study found that CSF biomarkers were as effective as amyloid PET, a consistent predictor of future tau burden. In CU individuals, all CSF biomarkers showed moderately strong correlations with standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) change on [18F]flortaucipir (FTP) scans. CSF p-tau181/Aβ1-42 ratio showed the strongest correlation in both the CI and CU cohorts. Additionally, plasma p-tau181, though not as strongly correlated as Aβ PET, was moderately correlated with FTP SUVR change. These findings may have implications for clinical trials with anti-tau drugs. This interview took place during the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2021.
