CSF tau and the CSF tau/ABeta ratio for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease dementia and other dementias in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
CONCLUSIONS: The insufficiency and heterogeneity of research to date primarily leads to a state of uncertainty regarding the value of CSF testing of t-tau, p-tau or p-tau/ABeta ratio for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in current clinical practice. Particular attention should be paid to the risk of misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis of dementia (and therefore over-treatment) in clinical practice. These tests, like other biomarker tests which have been subject to Cochrane DTA reviews, appear to have better sensitivity than specificity and therefore might have greater utility in ruling out Alzheimer's disease as the aetiology to the individual's evident cognitive impairment, as opposed to ruling it in. The heterogeneity observed in the few studies awaiting classification suggests our initial summary will remain valid. However, these tests may have limited clinical value until uncertainties have been addressed. Future studies with more uniformed approaches to thresholds, analysis and study conduct may provide a more homogenous estimate than the one that has been available from the included studies we have identified.
PMID: 28328043 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Ritchie C, Smailagic N, Noel-Storr AH, Ukoumunne O, Ladds EC, Martin S Tags: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Source Type: research
More News: Alzheimer's | Conferences | Databases & Libraries | Dementia | General Medicine | Men | Pathology | Science | Statistics | Study