Quanterix publishes Simoa p-Tau 217 assay study in Nature

Quanterix (QTRX) announced publication of a study in the journal Nature. The study, which utilized Quanterix’s ultra-sensitive Simoa p-Tau 217 research assay, is the largest population-based assessment of Alzheimer’s Disease Neuropathological Changes to date, providing scalable data to redefine disease prevalence. The research, conducted on a Norwegian population-based cohort of over 11,000 individuals aged 58 and above, addresses a challenge in epidemiology: obtaining accurate ADNC prevalence data from a representative general population rather than smaller, clinic-based samples. The study found that prevalence of ADNC rises sharply from 10% in individuals aged 58-69.9 years to 64.9% in those over 90. Furthermore, the findings suggest a higher prevalence of AD dementia in older individuals than previously estimated and enable more confident identification of asymptomatic individuals with ADNC who may benefit from early intervention or clinical trial participation. The ability to accurately measure p-Tau 217 in plasma from such a large cohort was critical for the study’s robust conclusions. Within the population aged 70 and above, the study confirmed that 30.4% exhibited ADNC. This detailed stratification revealed that 11.4% had preclinical AD, 10.8% had prodromal AD, and 7.4% had AD dementia. Beyond establishing prevalence, the study allowed researchers to make firm associations between sex, APOE genotype, and education level on the development of AD pathology. The study utilized a validated commercial p-Tau 217 kit on the fully automated HD-X analyzer to ensure the robustness and generalizability of the findings.