Any experience with the P Tau 217 plasma test for Alzheimer's?

@upgirl2013 thank you for the post and kind words. He is planning his retirement at the end of August. This was great news for his employer as I know they are worried about him. There aren’t many in person support groups locally. I am on a lot of online groups which has been helpful. If someone had a crystal ball for the speed of decline that would be great 😀. It’s the unknown that kills me.

The unknown and lack of what our futures like are the worse! I keep telling my self to put my helmet and seatbelts on. This is going to be a long and bumpy adventure.

My husband had the pTau-217 test last July and it came back 0.36 which his doctor said was indicative of Alzheimer's but not definitively so. The doctor ordered an Amyloid PET scan which showed no amyloid plaques, so the diagnosis is dementia, but we don't know what type. The neurologist told us it might be something called LATE - Limbic-predominant Age-related TDP-43 Encephalopathy. He said the symptoms mimic Alzheimer's and that they are finding that some percentage of patients who were diagnosed with Alzheimer's may actually have LATE. The problem is that, at least for now, there is no diagnostic test; it can only be diagnosed for certain at autopsy.

I would recommend that if you only have the pTau-217 test results, ask your doctor about an Amyloid PET Scan or an MRI to determine if there are Alzheimer's plaques.

Personally, I was almost hoping the Pet Scan had been positive for plaques because then we would know what he had and could start treatment.

My husbands MRI and PET showed brain atrophy and white matter changes and the glucose did not uptake in areas of the brain where he is lacking but I asked about plaque and amyloid and the neurologist said it’s not always obvious. Could be microscopic. He also tested positive for Lewey Body and his Tau217 was .83

My husband had the test performed by Mayo Clinic Laboratories this week and his level was 1.2 which is consistent with Alzheimer's disease pathology. He has previously also been diagnosed with vascular dementia with CAA. He is 80 years old and in the early stages. He has been on Namenda for about a little over a year, and they just added Aricept.

My husband has just been diagnosed and his PTau 217 is .526. We are not interested in the intravenous drugs at this time and are pursing the Bredesen Protocol through a doctor in Vienna, VA. Just at the beginning stages and looking forward to positive results.

Interested in your husband’s Ptau217 result. Was it .085 or .85. I ask because .085 is lower than .22.

@blc1951
Does your husband have any cognitive deficits right now? Did the Namenda help?

@maryvc
My husband is in the beginning stages of diagnosis.
How was Lewey Body tested? Specific test?
We see the neurologist next month.

@tak66 If there’s anything we do know about this disease is that it affects everyone differently and the speed of decline varies. Prepare yourself. Learn all that you can about the disease and how to be a caregiver to someone with it. The Connect is a good place to start. There are lots of learning scenarios posted here by others with loved ones on this journey as well as good advice on how to deal with just about everything that will arise. Also, there are wonderful You Tube Videos and books available. I would recommend Teepa Snow videos and your first book should be “The 36 Hour Day.” God be with you and your husband as you travel this road.