A Meta-analysis Of Tau Protein In Cerebrospinal Fluid In Predicting Alzheimer’s Disease

Objective Evaluation of the level of Tau protein in cerebrospinal fluid in predicting mild cognitive impairment patients progressing to Alzheimer’s disease.Methods Comprehensive retrieve the published literatures which aimed to investigate of cerebrospinal fluid Tau protein to predict the conversion of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s disease. Meta-analysis was conducted by using Stata11.0.Publication bias was estimated by Egger’s regression test and make sensitivity analysis.Results Eleven studies met inclusion criteria, 9 of the studies provided complete CSF total Tau protein and phosphorylated Tau protein concentration data, the other 2studies provide only the total Tau protein concentration, did not provide the phosphorylated Tau protein levels.The baseline concentrations of both T-tau and P-tau in MCI to AD patients were higher than those in stable-MCI patients.( T-tau:SMD=1.063,95%CI=0.902~1.223, Z=13.00, P<0.001; P-tau:SMD=1.335,95%CI=0.983~1.687,Z=7.44,P<0.001).Conclusion Tau protein in cerebrospinal fluid may be an important diagnostic biomarker for predicting the conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s disease.