Longevity & AgingAutomated Blood Test Detects Alzheimer's Pathology with 93–96% Accuracy
Researchers validated a fully automated, commercially available blood test measuring plasma phospho-tau217 (p-tau217) using the Lumipulse immunoassay across 1,767 cognitively symptomatic patients in five centers across Sweden, Spain, and Italy. Using predefined cutoffs, the test detected Alzheimer's pathology—defined by abnormal CSF Aβ42:p-tau181—with areas under the ROC curve of 0.93–0.96. Accuracy ranged from 89–91% in secondary care and 85% in primary care. A two-cutoff approach raised accuracy to 92–94% by flagging 12–17% of results as intermediate. The test performed consistently across sex, APOE genotype, diabetes, kidney disease, and cognitive stage, though accuracy dipped in those aged 80 or older.
