Plasma biomarkers are related to white matter integrity in alzheimer’s disease continuum

Q: What was the study’s main goal?

To test whether plasma biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease relate to white matter integrity measured on MRI diffusion metrics.

Q: How many participants were included, and what groups were represented?

Sixty-three older adults across the AD continuum, including mild cognitive impairment, subjective cognitive decline, and control participants.

Q: Which plasma biomarkers were measured and how were they linked to imaging?

Concentrations of Aβ40, Aβ42, Tau, and pTau181 were measured in blood using Single Molecule Array, then correlated with diffusion tensor imaging parameters such as FA, AxD, and RD.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Olivia Brown

Plasma biomarkers (PB) for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) offer a non-invasive, economical option for early diagnosis, yet it remains unclear whether PB levels track structural brain changes on MRI. This poster investigates the correlation between AD plasma biomarkers and white matter integrity across an AD continuum, including mild cognitive impairment, subjective cognitive decline, and controls. Measures combine blood-based biomarkers with MRI diffusion metrics and nonparametric statistics.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Method

Result

Conclusion

DOI: 10. 1002/alz70856_106760 BIOMARKERS POSTER PRESENTATION BIOMARKERS (NON-NEUROIMAGING) Plasma biomarkers are related to white matter integrity in alzheimer’s disease continuum Isadora Cristina Ribeiro1 Brunno Machado de Campos 1 Liara Luis E. Santos3 Ananssa Silva3 Thaís Lopes Pinheiro3 Ítalo Karmann Aventurato 1 Brenda Costa Gonçalves4 Marjorie Cristina Rocha da SIlva 1 Fernanda Guarino De Felice3 Marcio Luiz Figueredo Balthazar6 Rizzi2 Fernando Cendes5 1 Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil 2 Memory and Aging Center, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA 3 D’Or Institute for Research and Education, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil 4 UNICAMP-UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL DE CAMPINAS, CAMPINAS, SP, Brazil 5 Unicamp, Campinas, Brazil 6School of Medical Sciences/University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil Correspondence Isadora Cristina Ribeiro, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil. Email: [isadora.cr@hotmail.com](isadora.cr@hotmail.com) Abstract Background: Plasma biomarkers (PB) of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a non-invasive and economic alternative for early diagnosis. Due to the increasing incidence of dementia worldwide, understanding the relationship between PBand otherAD biomarkers, such as neuroimaging is necessary. However, it is unclear whether PB concentrations reflect changes in brain anatomy observed on MRI. This study investigated the correlation between AD BP and white matter integrity. Method: 63 older adults in AD continuum (42 Mild cognitive impairment, 8 Subjective cognitive decline, 13 Control) underwent magnetic resonance imaging examination and blood collection. Plasma samples were aliquoted and stored in cryogenic tubes in a gallon of nitrogen. Single Molecule Array was used to investigate the concentrations of BA40, BA42, Tau, and pTau181 in blood samples. Diffusion tensor imaging parameters (fractional anisotropy (FA) and axial (AxD) and radial diffusivity (RD)) were assessed with a preprocessing script that merges MRTrix, FSL, ANTs, and SPM12 tools. We investigate tracts related to AD (uncinate fasciculus (UF), inferior frontal-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), corpus callosum (CC), corticospinal tract (Cs), cingulum (Cg) and fornix (Fx). Due to the nonparametric data, we used Spearman’s correlation (p < 0.05; SPSS 26). Result: We found a positive correlation between plasma pTau181 concentrations and the AxD value in the left UF (r=0. 273, p = 0.03), of AB42 with RD in the right and left IFOF (r=0. 255, p = 0.04; r=0. 263, p = 0.03) and in the CC (R=0. 261, p = 0.03). In addition, BA42 with AxD in the right Fx (r=0. 334, p = 0.00). AB40 correlated positively with AxD in the CC (r=0. 259, p = 0.04) and in the right Fx (r=0. 271, p = 0.03) with RD This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2025 The Alzheimer’s Association. Alzheimer’s & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer’s Association. Alzheimer’s Dement. 2025;21(Suppl. 2):e106760. [https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70856_106760](https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70856_106760) wi[leyonlinelibrary.com/journal/alz](leyonlinelibrary.com/journal/alz) 1of2 BIOMARKERS in the left Cs (r=0. 334, p = 0.00). And Tau with RD in the right Fx (r=0. 296, p = 0.01). In addition, negative correlations between FA values in the CC with ptau181 (r=-0. 292, p = 0.02), with tau in the Right Cg (r=-0. 318, p = 0.01) and right Fx (r=-0. 315, p = 0.01). Conclusion: We observed that higher concentrations of AD PB are associated with demyelination and axonal degeneration (such as AxD and RD), while lower concentrations oftau and ptau181 reflect low axonal degeneration and demyelination. PB reflects changes in white matter i

FAQs

What was the study’s main goal?

To test whether plasma biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease relate to white matter integrity measured on MRI diffusion metrics.

How many participants were included, and what groups were represented?

Sixty-three older adults across the AD continuum, including mild cognitive impairment, subjective cognitive decline, and control participants.

Which plasma biomarkers were measured and how were they linked to imaging?

Concentrations of Aβ40, Aβ42, Tau, and pTau181 were measured in blood using Single Molecule Array, then correlated with diffusion tensor imaging parameters such as FA, AxD, and RD.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Olivia Brown