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How Blood Testing is Uncovering Potential Risk for Alzheimer’s

pTau proteins

If you’re concerned about your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in the future, you're not alone—many people share this concern, especially if they have a family history or other risk factors.

The good news is that due to recent progress in medical research, blood tests can now help detect your risk of developing Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia up to 10 to 20 years before any symptoms begin. 

A simple blood test can detect plasma phosphorylated tau (pTau), a biomarker linked with dementia, allowing you to assess your risk for developing Alzheimer’s later in life.

What is P-Tau?

pTau is a small protein mostly found in neurons, the brain's messenger cells. These cells communicate with each other for even the simplest daily tasks and form a large network allowing for the passage of information all across the brain.

Each neuron has a tube-like shape that allows nutrients and other essential substances to travel through its different parts. pTau is responsible for keeping this internal structure of neurons in place and stable, a task critical for maintaining healthy brain functionality.

Like other proteins, pTau can be negatively affected by environmental or genetic factors. When this happens, pTau can't do its job properly, and the neuron is put at risk. 

What’s the connection between P-Tau and Alzheimer’s Disease?

While research is still ongoing into the causes of Alzheimer’s, we do know that in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s, their pTau has undergone abnormal changes, causing it to separate from microtubules and stick to other tau molecules. 

As these abnormal forms of pTau cling to other tau proteins, they create tau tangles inside brain cells, blocking their function and disrupting communication between neurons. This leads to cell damage and inflammation, which contribute to Alzheimer's disease symptoms.

Elevated levels of pTau in the blood can therefore be an early indicator of increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s, potentially decades before any symptoms become apparent.

Tests for P-Tau

Previously, the only way to find out if someone had Alzheimer’s disease was through techniques like brain PET scans and cerebrospinal fluid tests done via a spinal tap. These methods are both invasive and expensive, so researchers have been searching for alternate detection methods.

That’s where the pTau blood test comes in.

Detecting pTau in the blood is now being used as a way to diagnose Alzheimer's disease earlier and more accurately. This research breakthrough is critical because the earlier Alzheimer’s disease is detected, the more potential options for intervention are available. Through pTau blood testing we can empower earlier treatment and better patient outcomes for the future.

For more detailed information on pTau, check out the Tau Fact Sheet from the Alzheimer’s Association. 

CONTRIBUTING EXPERTS

Sinikka Green, MD

Dr. Green is the Medical Director and a Principal Investigator at Care Access. She is board certified in emergency medicine.

SOURCES

  1.  Alzheimer’s Association Tau Fact Sheet https://www.alz.org/media/documents/alzheimers-dementia-tau-ts.pdf
  2. Tau Protein and Alzheimer’s Disease: What’s the Connection? https://www.brightfocus.org/alzheimers/article/tau-protein-and-alzheimers-disease-whats-connection
  3. National Institute on Aging: What Happens to the Brain in Alzheimer's Disease? https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-causes-and-risk-factors/what-happens-brain-alzheimers-disease
  4. Gonzalez-Ortiz F, Kac PR, Brum WS, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Karikari TK. Plasma phospho-tau in Alzheimer's disease: towards diagnostic and therapeutic trial applications. Mol Neurodegener. 2023 Mar 16;18(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s13024-023-00605-8. PMID: 36927491; PMCID: PMC10022272. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10022272/

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