# 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

Article · Mohs RC, Beauregard D, Dwyer J, Gaudioso J, Bork J, MaGee-Rodgers T, Key MN, Kerwin DR, Hughes L, Cordell CB

- Archive id: doi:10.1002/alz.13722
- Published: 2024-02-28
- Venue: Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13722
- PMID: 38415908
- PMCID: PMC11032569
- Citations: 64
- Source URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13722
- PDF: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC11032569/pdf
- Provenance: europepmc

## 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.

_Abstract reproduced under CC-BY (article license as recorded by Europe PMC; abstract reproduced unmodified apart from markup removal)._

Topics: [Alzheimer's, Parkinson's & Neurodegeneration](https://space-kitty.com/topics/neurodegeneration)

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