Siemens Healthineers announced today its offerings for brain health research are expanding, with the brain-derived, fully automated Atellica IM Phosphorylated tau 217 (pTau217) and Atellica IM Brain Derived Tau (BDTau) assays now available for 1. Every year, there are nearly 10 million new cases of dementia diagnosed worldwide2. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common, contributing to 60-70 % of cases, though it affects many more people over time as these individuals become adversely impacted and increasingly dependent on others for their care2.
The blood tests from Siemens Healthineers offer researchers chemiluminescent immunoassays to provide a quantitative measurement of brain-derived phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) and Brain Derived Tau (BD tau) and are run on the widely installed Atellica Solution IM and Atellica CI Analyzers. Blood-based biomarker testing offers a less-invasive method compared to cerebrospinal fluid which requires a lumbar puncture.
Siemens Healthineers is laser focused on expanding researchers’ access to blood testing that can reduce the burden of invasive testing to better understand these diseases and help address the growing societal impact of neurodegenerative conditions. Our Atellica IM instrument enables the high sensitivity required to detect neurological biomarkers in blood.”
Jim Freeman, Head of Core Laboratory Solutions R&D for Diagnostics, Siemens Healthineers
“Analyzer engineering is very important for amplifying the signal we need to achieve reliable results using blood tests,” said Henrik Zetterberg, MD, PhD, an internationally renowned neuroscientist known for his pioneering research on biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. “Blood tests are much easier for both patients and doctors – you can scale testing, follow patients, or perhaps prepare a biomarker portfolio.”
Contributions to scientific innovation
Siemens Healthineers is involved in several research collaborations to advance earlier detection and characterization of neurological diseases with p-tau217 and BD tau biomarkers3-5. Notably, multi-cohort research studies are underway with PREDICTOM, ACCESS-AD, and Banner Sun Health Research Institute.
“We value the opportunity to work with the leading diagnostics companies to advance the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, and this is a great example,” said Nicholas Ashton, PhD, senior director of the Fluid Biomarker Program at Banner Sun Health Research Institute in Arizona. “We’re working to validate the clinical utility of the plasma p-tau217 biomarker across diverse patient populations to advance early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Our findings appear to support the promise of this Alzheimer’s blood biomarker in the clinical setting. We look forward to further advancing this research.”
Other brain health biomarkers
In addition to the Atellica IM pTau217 and Atellica IM BDTau RUO assays, Siemens Healthineers offers a assay (with CE mark)6 to help predict the risk of future Multiple Sclerosis disease activity. Development efforts are underway to offer additional biomarkers, including Apolipoprotein E-ε4 (ApoE-ε4), a protein involved in the metabolism of fats and a subtype that is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease and cardiovascular diseases. Researchers can stay updated about these offerings