Peer-Reviewed Publication
Alzheimers Dement2026;22(5):e71424.May 1, 2026Journal Article
Advancing biomarker development for chronic traumatic encephalopathy: Summary and recommendations from the 2025 Leon Thal Summit.
Charles Bernick1, Brooke Conway Kleven2,3,4, Michael L Alosco5,6,7,8,9, Hector Arciniega10,11,12, Nicholas Ashton13,14, Andrew Bender1, Kevin F Bieniek15,16, Dietmar Cordes1, Laura Cordes1, Douglas I Katz5,17, Dirk Keene18, Jefferson Kinney3,4, LeeAnn Mandarino1, Dawn Matthews19, Anne McKee5,7,20,21, Jesse Mez5,6,7, Edwin C Oh3,22,23, Elaine Peskind24,25, Gil D Rabinovici26,27, Eric M Reiman28,29, Robert A Stern5,6,7,8,9, Neil Vasdev30,31,32, Henrik Zetterberg13,33,34,35,36,37,38,39, Xiaowei Zhuang1, Jeffrey L Cummings3,4
1Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
2Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
3Department of Brain Health, Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
4Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience, Department of Brain Health, Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
5Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
6Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
7BU CTE Center, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
8Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
9Department of Neurology, Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
10Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, New York, USA.
11NYU Langone Concussion Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, New York, USA.
12Institute for Translational Neuroscience, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
13Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
14Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, Arizona, USA.
15Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's & Neurodegenerative Diseases, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
16Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
17Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
18Division of Neuropathology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA.
19ADM Diagnostics, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA.
20Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
21VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
22Department of Internal Medicine, Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
23Center for Water Intelligence and Community Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
24Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA.
25VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Washington, USA.
26Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
27Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
28Banner Alzheimer's Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
29Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
30Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
31Centre for Neuro-radiochemistry, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
32Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
33Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.
34Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
35Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
36Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
37UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, UK.
38Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, InnoHK, Hong Kong, China.
39Centre for Brain Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
Abstract
The 2025 Leon Thal Summit convened an international panel of clinicians, neuroscientists, neuropathologists, and neuroimaging specialists to evaluate the current state of biomarker development for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and to outline priorities for advancing translational research for this important area. Discussions integrated emerging findings from longitudinal cohorts, new mole…
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