Phosphorylated-tau
Phosphorylated-tau (p-tau) refers to tau protein carrying phosphate modifications.
Phosphorylated-tau (p-tau) refers to tau protein carrying phosphate modifications. In the biomedical literature represented here, p-tau is principally studied as a biomarker associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) neuropathology, in which amyloid β (Aβ) and p-tau protein accumulation are central pathological features. Several site-specific forms—including p-tau181, p-tau212, and p-tau217—are measured in plasma or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), often alongside total tau (t-tau), neurofilament light chain (NF-L), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).
p-Tau measurements are being evaluated for disease classification, differential diagnosis, and association with cognition across neurodegenerative and other neurological conditions. The supplied literature places phosphorylated-tau chiefly within biomarker studies of AD and related cognitive diseases, while also extending its investigation to frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tau pathology (FTLD-tau), prion diseases, temporal lobe epilepsy, and obstructive sleep apnoea-associated mild cognitive impairment. Experimental work has additionally examined pTau immunoreactivity in the hippocampus, including the dCA1 and dDG regions, in relation to memory impairment and treatment with a standardized extract of Ginkgo biloba.
Rebuilt from PubMed 10 Sept 2026 · no new papers today
Where the papers sit
9 papers study phosphorylated-tau directly. The themes below are drawn from those 9.
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Blood Biomarkers Across Neurological Disease : Plasma p-Tau217, GFAP and NF-L are being evaluated across Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and prion disease, with analytical performance compared across immunoassay platforms. Disease specificity and cross-condition interpretation remain central challenges. 4 papers · 44.4%
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Amyloid Biology and Alzheimer Biomarkers : Amyloid pathology is being linked to cognition through plasma and cerebrospinal-fluid profiling, while cholinergic dysfunction and Ginkgo biloba provide an intervention context. The work is moving toward biomarker-based stratification of disease biology and treatment response. 3 papers · 33.3%
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Tau Biomarkers in Cognitive Disease : Tau368/t-tau profiling improves discrimination of FTLD-tau from FTLD-TDP, while oxygen-related plasma biomarkers are being explored in cognitive impairment associated with obstructive sleep apnoea. The shared direction is earlier, more disease-specific biomarker assessment. 2 papers · 22.2%
Recent Findings on phosphorylated-tau
A 2026 comparison of three immunoassay platforms for plasma GFAP in AD evaluated p-tau181 and p-tau217 as part of a core plasma biomarker panel containing Aβ1-42, together with GFAP and NF-L. Receiver operating characteristic analyses and multimarker models were performed on the Simoa platform to assess the individual markers and their combinations, positioning p-tau within a broader blood-based biomarker strategy for AD 41921527Apr.
In FTLD, a study titled “Tau368 improves p-tau diagnostic accuracy for FTLD-tau from FTLD-TDP” compared CSF p-tau181, p-tau212, tau368, t-tau, and the tau368/t-tau ratio. The investigation tested differentiation of FTLD-tau from FTLD-TDP, neuronal α-synuclein disease, and controls, extending the use of p-tau-related measurements beyond conventional AD biomarker panels and toward molecular classification of frontotemporal lobar degeneration 42340485Jun.
A community-based cohort study examined AD neuropathology and cognition in midlife. The study described AD neuropathology in terms of Aβ and p-tau protein accumulation and addressed the use of biomarkers in a population younger than the older clinical samples in which AD biomarkers have traditionally been assessed 42208562May.
In patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, plasma p-Tau181 was compared among individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy and comorbid depression (TLE-D), temporal lobe epilepsy without the specified comorbidity, and healthy controls. p-Tau181 concentrations were higher in the TLE-D group than in both the TLE and healthy-control groups, with both comparisons remaining significant after false-discovery-rate correction; no significant difference was observed between the TLE and healthy-control groups 42189430May.
A pilot study of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome associated with mild cognitive impairment measured AD-related biomarkers in plasma. Both t-Tau and p-Tau181 were reported to be elevated in participants with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome and mild cognitive impairment, linking p-tau assessment with oxygen-related biomarkers and network analysis in this clinical context 42168722May.
A study of folate, vitamin B12, and cognitive function in the Hubei Memory and Aging Cohort assessed whether hemoglobin, homocysteine, and plasma AD biomarkers contributed to the relationship between nutritional factors and cognition. The biomarker set included Aβ40, Aβ42, p-Tau181, p-Tau217, GFAP, and NF-L, illustrating the use of multiple pathological and neurodegeneration-related markers in mediation models 41980534Apr.
In an experimental mouse study, a standardized extract of Ginkgo biloba was tested in older female mice with basal forebrain cholinergic dysfunction and memory impairment. Treatment reversed memory-related deficits in a dose-dependent manner and modulated Aβ and pTau-immunoreactive cell counts in the dorsal CA1 and dorsal dentate gyrus regions of the hippocampus, with memory assessed using the Morris water navigation task 42443567Jul.
A CSF proteomic study of patients with AD investigated differentiation and prediction of responders and non-responders to lymphatic–venous anastomosis. The analysis incorporated p-tau181 and Aβ42 as an additional pair of classical AD biomarkers, alongside the broader CSF proteome, thereby examining p-tau in combination with amyloid-related measurements and treatment-response analyses 42350157Jun.
A study of plasma AD biomarkers in prion diseases measured p-tau217 and p-tau181 together with the Aβ42/40 ratio, brain-derived tau, NF-L, and GFAP using the Simoa platform. This design evaluated the behavior of p-tau markers within a biomarker panel applied to patients with prion diseases, including variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, and provided a comparison with markers of axonal injury and astrocyte-related pathology 42441927Jul.
Written from 9 PubMed abstracts, each one cited by PMID above. Published: 2026-08-29. Drafted by language models from published abstracts; not medical advice.