Independent study demonstrates amyloid probability score accurately indicates amyloid pathology

Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2023 May;10(5):765-778. doi: 10.1002/acn3.51763. Epub 2023 Mar 28.

Abstract

Background: The amyloid probability score (APS) is the model read-out of the analytically validated mass spectrometry-based PrecivityAD® blood test that incorporates the plasma Aβ42/40 ratio, ApoE proteotype, and age to identify the likelihood of brain amyloid plaques among cognitively impaired individuals being evaluated for Alzheimer's disease.

Purpose: This study aimed to provide additional independent evidence that the pre-established APS algorithm, along with its cutoff values, discriminates between amyloid positive and negative individuals.

Methods: The diagnostic performance of the PrecivityAD test was analyzed in a cohort of 200 nonrandomly selected Australian Imaging, Biomarker & Lifestyle Flagship Study of Aging (AIBL) study participants, who were either cognitively impaired or healthy controls, and for whom a blood sample and amyloid PET imaging were available.

Results: In a subset of the dataset aligned with the Intended Use population (patients aged 60 and older with CDR ≥0.5), the pre-established APS algorithm predicted amyloid PET with a sensitivity of 84.9% (CI: 72.9-92.1%) and specificity of 96% (CI: 80.5-99.3%), exclusive of 13 individuals for whom the test was inconclusive.

Interpretation: The study shows individuals with a high APS are more likely than those with a low APS to have abnormal amounts of amyloid plaques and be on an amyloid accumulation trajectory, a dynamic and evolving process characteristic of progressive AD pathology. Exploratory data suggest APS retains its diagnostic performance in healthy individuals, supporting further screening studies in the cognitively unimpaired.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aging / pathology
  • Alzheimer Disease* / diagnostic imaging
  • Alzheimer Disease* / pathology
  • Amyloid
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides*
  • Australia
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Plaque, Amyloid / diagnostic imaging

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Amyloid

Grants and funding

This work was funded by Biogen .