Plasma p-tau181 as an outcome and predictor of multidomain intervention effects: a secondary analysis of a randomised, controlled, dementia prevention trial
Authors: Nicola Coley, Henrik Zetterberg, Christelle Cantet, Sophie Guyonnet, Nicholas J Ashton, Bruno Vellas, Kaj Blennow, Sandrine Andrieu, Bruno Vellas, Sophie Guyonnet, Isabelle Carrié, Lauréane Brigitte, Catherine Faisant, Françoise Lala, Julien Delrieu, Hélène Villars, Emeline Combrouze, Carole Badufle, Audrey Zueras, Sandrine Andrieu, Christelle Cantet, Christophe Morin, Gabor Abellan Van Kan, Charlotte Dupuy, Yves Rolland, Céline Caillaud, Pierre-Jean Ousset, Sherry Willis, Sylvie Belleville, Brigitte Gilbert, Francine Fontaine, Jean-François Dartigues, Isabelle Marcet, Fleur Delva, Alexandra Foubert, Sandrine Cerda, Marie-Noëlle Cuffi, Corinne Costes, Olivier Rouaud, Patrick Manckoundia, Valérie Quipourt, Sophie Marilier, Evelyne Franon, Lawrence Bories, Marie-Laure Pader, Marie-France Basset, Bruno Lapoujade, Valérie Faure, Michael Li Yung Tong, Christine Malick-Loiseau, Evelyne Cazaban-Campistron, Françoise Desclaux, Colette Blatge, Thierry Dantoine, Cécile Laubarie-Mouret, Isabelle Saulnier, Jean-Pierre Clément, Marie-Agnès Picat, Laurence Bernard-Bourzeix, Stéphanie Willebois, Iléana Désormais, Noëlle Cardinaud, Marc Bonnefoy, Pierre Livet, Pascale Rebaudet, Claire Gédéon, Catherine Burdet, Flavien Terracol, Alain Pesce, Stéphanie Roth, Sylvie Chaillou, Sandrine Louchart, Kristel Sudres, Nicolas Lebrun, Nadège Barro-Belaygues, Jacques Touchon, Karim Bennys, Audrey Gabelle, Aurélia Romano, Lynda Touati, Cécilia Marelli, Cécile Pays, Philippe Robert, Franck Le Duff, Claire Gervais, Sébastien Gonfrier, Yannick Gasnier, Serge Bordes, Danièle Begorre, Christian Carpuat, Khaled Khales, Jean-François Lefebvre, Samira Misbah El Idrissi, Pierre Skolil, Jean-Pierre Salles, Carole Dufouil, Stéphane Lehéricy, Marie Chupin, Jean-François Mangin, Ali Bouhayia, Michèle Allard, Frédéric Ricolfi, Dominique Dubois, Marie Paule Bonceour Martel, François Cotton, Alain Bonafé, Stéphane Chanalet, Françoise Hugon, Fabrice Bonneville, Christophe Cognard, François Chollet, Pierre Payoux, Thierry Voisin, Sophie Peiffer, Anne Hitzel, Michèle Allard, Michel Zanca, Jacques Monteil, Jacques Darcourt, Laurent Molinier, Hélène Derumeaux, Nadège Costa, Bertrand Perret, Claire Vinel, Sylvie Caspar-Bauguil, Pascale Olivier-Abbal, Nicola Coley
Journal: The Lancet Healthy Longevity (2024)

<h2>Summary</h2><h3>Background</h3> It is unknown whether multidomain interventions, which might preserve late-life cognition, affect Alzheimer's disease pathology. Previous studies measured cerebrospinal fluid and imaging Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in small subsamples of multidomain trial participants. Newly developed assays enable the measurement of blood-based Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in larger samples. We aimed to assess whether plasma tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (p-tau181) was able to detect or predict 3-year multidomain intervention effects. <h3>Methods</h3> This is a secondary analysis of the randomised, controlled, Multidomain Alzheimer Prevention Trial (MAPT) testing a 3-year multidomain intervention, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, or both versus placebo, in individuals aged 70 years and older in 13 memory centres in France and Monaco. Plasma p-tau181 was measured in stored blood samples in a subsample of 527 participants on an intention-to-treat basis. Changes in cognitive score were calculated as a composite measure using the average of Z scores for the following tests: Mini Mental State Examination orientation items, Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (sum of free and total recall scores), category fluency, and Digit Symbol Substitution Test. Intervention effects on 3-year change in p-tau181 concentration were estimated by use of a linear mixed model with centre-specific random intercepts. <h3>Findings</h3> Recruitment took place between May 30, 2008, and Feb 24, 2011. Median baseline plasma p-tau181 was 8·8 pg/mL (IQR 6·7–11·9) in the total sample, and significantly higher in older individuals, men, <i>APOE</i> ε4 carriers, and participants with renal dysfunction or a positive PET amyloid scan. During 3-year follow-up, individuals with raised baseline p-tau181 underwent greater cognitive decline (eg, mean difference in 3-year change on the composite cognitive score between control group participants with normal and abnormal baseline levels of p-tau was −0·34 [effect size −0·52; 95% CI −0·61 to 0·07] in the fully adjusted model using a 12·4 pg/mL cutoff for abnormal baseline p-tau181), but there were no intervention effects on change in p-tau181 either in this subgroup or the total population, and no effect on cognitive change in individuals with raised baseline p-tau181 (eg, in the fully adjusted model using the 12·4 pg/mL cutoff for p-tau181 abnormality, the mean difference [95% CI] in this subgroup in 3-year decline on the composite cognitive score between the control group and the multidomain + omega-3 group, the omega-3 group, and the multidomain intervention group, was, respectively: 0·13 [−0·21 to 0·47], 0·03 [−0·30 to 0·36], and 0·10 [−0·26 to 0·46]). Surprisingly, individuals with raised baseline p-tau181 showed a decrease in p-tau181 during follow-up (eg, unadjusted mean [95% CI] 3-year change was −3·01 pg/mL (−4·45 to −1·56) in control group subjects with abnormal baseline p-tau181 [using the 12·4 pg/mL abnormal p-tau cutoff]). <h3>Interpretation</h3> Our results support the utility of p-tau181 as a prognostic biomarker, but it did not predict or detect intervention effects in this study. Further investigation of its usefulness as a prevention trial outcome measure is required. <h3>Funding</h3> Toulouse Gérontopôle, French Ministry of Health and Pierre Fabre Research Institute.