Kimberly Bjugstad

The new LG-pT217/Aβ42 blood biomarker Alzheimer’s disease diagnostic test may not be as accurate in high-risk populations, particularly for those with prior traumatic brain injury (TBI), according to a recent study published in JAMA Neurology. Last year, the FDA approved the new blood test that measures two biomarkers, beta-amyloid and tau, in plasma with high accuracy for diagnosing Alzheimer’s.

The neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are the extracellular amyloid beta (Aß) plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) of hyperphosphorylated tau.1,2 Plaque development begins in cerebral cortical areas of the brain and over time progresses subcortically.2 Only late disease stages present with Aß in the hippocampus.2 In contrast, tau neuropathology follows a nearly opposite path.

John Davidson sat in the theater, delighted that Robert Aramayo won BAFTA’s* best leading actor for his portrayal of Davidson in the movie, “I Swear,” which documented Davidson’s life with Tourette syndrome. In the quiet that comes between award presentations, a vocal tic pushed itself from Davidson, and everyone – in the audience and on TV – heard the racial slur.