The Bio-Hermes Study: Biomarker database developed to investigate blood-based and digital biomarkers in community-based, diverse populations clinically screened for Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimers Dement 2024;
20:2752-2765. [PMID:
38415908 PMCID:
PMC11032569 DOI:
10.1002/alz.13722]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Alzheimer's disease (AD) trial participants are often screened for eligibility by brain amyloid positron emission tomography/cerebrospinal fluid (PET/CSF), which is inefficient as many are not amyloid positive. Use of blood-based biomarkers may reduce screen failures.
METHODS
We recruited 755 non-Hispanic White, 115 Hispanic, 112 non-Hispanic Black, and 19 other minority participants across groups of cognitively normal (n = 417), mild cognitive impairment (n = 312), or mild AD (n = 272) participants. Plasma amyloid beta (Aβ)40, Aβ42, Aβ42/Aβ40, total tau, phosphorylated tau (p-tau)181, and p-tau217 were measured; amyloid PET/CSF (n = 956) determined amyloid positivity. Clinical, blood biomarker, and ethnicity/race differences associated with amyloid status were evaluated.
RESULTS
Greater impairment, older age, and carrying an apolipoprotein E (apoE) ε4 allele were associated with greater amyloid burden. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for amyloid status of plasma Aβ42/Aβ40, p-tau181, and p-tau217 with amyloid positivity were ≥ 0.7117 for all ethnoracial groups (p-tau217, ≥0.8128). Age and apoE ε4 adjustments and imputation of biomarker values outside limit of quantitation provided small improvement in predictive power.
DISCUSSION
Blood-based biomarkers are highly associated with amyloid PET/CSF results in diverse populations enrolled at clinical trial sites.
HIGHLIGHTS
Amyloid beta (Aβ)42/Aβ40, phosphorylated tau (p-tau)181, and p-tau 217 blood-based biomarkers predicted brain amyloid positivity. P-tau 217 was the strongest predictor of brain amyloid positivity. Biomarkers from diverse ethnic, racial, and clinical cohorts predicted brain amyloid positivity. Community-based populations have similar Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarker levels as other populations. A prescreen process with blood-based assays may reduce the number of AD trial screen failures.
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