Overview
- The Nature Medicine study modeled symptom timing using plasma p‑tau217 in about 603 cognitively unimpaired older adults from the WashU Knight ADRC and ADNI cohorts.
- Predictions generalized across multiple commercial p‑tau217 assays, including at least one FDA‑cleared test, indicating platform robustness.
- Age strongly influenced timing: elevated p‑tau217 at 60 corresponded to symptoms about 20 years later versus roughly 11 years when elevation first appeared at 80.
- The research team released data, model code, and a web application to enable independent validation and iterative improvement.
- Researchers and external experts emphasize use for research and clinical‑trial enrichment now, with broader clinical adoption contingent on replication in larger, more diverse populations and further refinement.