Brain-derived Tau (BD-Tau) is one of the latest additions to the growing neurology biomarker family that holds promise to improve the accuracy in the identification and staging of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurological conditions.

AD is the most common type of neurodegenerative disease, characterized by the presence of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain that can occur over a decade before cognitive decline. Early identification and monitoring of neurodegeneration risks are crucial for effective AD management. While cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) total Tau (T-Tau) reliably indicates AD-specific neurodegeneration, blood T-Tau shows lack of correlation with CSF T-Tau and minimal change in AD. This limitation is likely due to the predominant peripheral origin of Tau in blood, which accounts for approximately 80%, making brain-specific changes in circulating Tau levels hard to detect. Selectively measure BD-Tau by targeting the low molecular weight Tau isoforms expressed in the central nervous system (CNS) creates an avenue to profile more brain-specific changes in Tau levels in blood and to better understand the dynamic between BD-Tau and T-Tau in AD research and beyond. Download our fact sheet to learn more.