Newborns had higher blood tau markers than Alzheimer’s patients
One modified form of tau averaged 17 picograms per milliliter in newborns, versus 8.6 in Alzheimer’s patients and 2.6 in older controls.
73 participants, multicenter
Limit: Blood markers were measured, not the effects of changing tau phosphorylation
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An observational study compared blood samples from 42 healthy full-term newborns, 41 older controls and 73 patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers measured two forms of the tau protein with phosphate groups attached, a modification called phosphorylation.
Both forms, called p-tau217 and p-tau205, were highest in newborns, followed by Alzheimer’s patients and then older controls. For p-tau205, average concentrations were 3.3 picograms per milliliter in newborns, 0.7 in Alzheimer’s patients and 0.5 in older controls. The newborns’ high phosphorylated tau levels occurred without the blood-marker pattern associated with amyloid protein and nerve-cell degeneration. The authors interpreted this as support for different biological meanings of tau phosphorylation across life.
Why it matters
Tau phosphorylation is important in early brain development and Alzheimer’s disease. The authors propose that the same biology may be beneficial early in life and harmful in aging.
Caveats
This observational comparison measured blood markers, not the effects of changing tau phosphorylation. It did not test whether the modification benefits developing brains or contributes to harm later in life.
The paper
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh; Sahlgrenska University Hospital
Brain Communications, Oct 29, 2026, Open access, CC BY
