Serum brain-derived tau distinguishes acute neurotrauma diagnoses

Baseline serum brain-derived tau (BD-tau) is markedly higher in traumatic brain injury than spinal cord injury, distinguishing them in neuro-intensive care patients with AUC=0.91 (95%CI 0.87–0.96).

• Why it matters: Early biological differentiation between TBI and SCI is difficult when symptoms overlap, especially in acute and mixed-trauma settings, leaving an unmet need for rapid, accurate triage tools.
• What they did: In a multi-cohort assessment of 342 neuro-intensive care unit admissions (285 TBI, 57 SCI) plus 22 controls, investigators measured baseline serum BD-tau and evaluated discrimination using AUC, including comparisons to established blood biomarkers.
• The result: Serum BD-tau also outperformed CSF BD-tau for injury-type discrimination (AUC=0.95 vs 0.80) and remained elevated in TBI but not SCI for up to 144 hours, supporting early decision-making and trial enrollment.

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