Fluid eMTBR-tau243 as a Biomarker of Mixed 3-Repeat and 4-Repeat Tau Pathology.

Plasma eMTBR-tau243 is increased in high-stage chronic traumatic encephalopathy, distinguishing CTE stage III–IV from cognitively unimpaired controls with AUC 0.97 (95% CI 0.92–1.00).

• Why it matters: eMTBR-tau243 has been linked to Alzheimer disease tau pathology, but its specificity and meaning in non-AD tauopathies, especially CTE, were unclear.
• What they did: In a US case-control study using mass spectrometry–based CSF and plasma assays, plasma eMTBR-tau243 levels were compared across CTE stages and cognitively unimpaired controls.
• The result: Median (IQR) plasma eMTBR-tau243 was higher in 11 CTE patients (1.93 [0.42–3.68] fmol/L) than 20 controls (0.29 [0.05–0.62] fmol/L) (adjusted P = .007), and it did not distinguish CTE stage I (AUC 0.64; 95% CI 0.32–0.97).

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