Assessment of the Correlation and Diagnostic Accuracy between Cerebrospinal Fluid and Plasma Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers: A Comparison of the Lumipulse and Simoa Platforms

Abstract

We compared the clinical and analytical performance of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) plasma biomarkers measured using the single-molecule array (Simoa) and Lumipulse platforms. We quantified the plasma levels of amyloid beta 42 (Aβ42), Aβ40, phosphorylated tau (Ptau181), and total tau biomarkers in 81 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 30 with AD, and 16 with non-AD dementia. We found a strong correlation between the Simoa and Lumipulse methods. Concerning the clinical diagnosis, Simoa Ptau181/Aβ42 (AUC 0.739, 95% CI 0.592–0.887) and Lumipulse Aβ42 and Ptau181/Aβ42 (AUC 0.735, 95% CI 0.589–0.882 and AUC 0.733, 95% CI 0.567–0.900) had the highest discriminating power. However, their power was significantly lower than that of CSF Aβ42/Aβ40, as measured by Lumipulse (AUC 0.879, 95% CI 0.766–0.992). Simoa Ptau181 and Lumipulse Ptau181/Aβ42 were the markers most consistent with the CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 status (AUC 0.801, 95% CI 0.712–0.890 vs. AUC 0.870, 95% CI 0.806–0.934, respectively) at the ≥2.127 and ≥0.084 cut-offs, respectively. The performance of the Simoa and Lumipulse plasma AD assays is weaker than that of CSF AD biomarkers. At present, the analysed AD plasma biomarkers may be useful for screening to reduce the number of lumbar punctures in the clinical setting.