Ultrasensitive Tau Assay Enables Quantification of Neuronal Biomarker in Blood for the First Time

It has been well established that the neuronal protein tau has an important role in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Currently, measuring neuronal proteins like tau requires cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collection as their concentrations in peripheral circulation are below the detection limit of conventional assays. The necessity of an invasive collection method has thus limited use of CSF biomarkers. A means for measuring neuronal proteins in blood would dramatically influence diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease and other brain injuries by eliminating the need for invasive, expensive, time‐consuming procedures. Until recently, efforts to provide sensitive and reliable tau measurements in serum and plasma have met with little success. This whitepaper highlights a quantification method for neuronal biomarkers in blood for the first time.