Cited by 452Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsMedical Imaging Techniques and Applications

Longitudinal tau PET in ageing and Alzheimer’s disease

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Jack, Clifford R, Wiste, Heather J, Schwarz, Christopher G, Lowe, Val J, Senjem, Matthew L, Vemuri, Prashanthi, Weigand, Stephen D, Therneau, Terry M +9 more·2018·Brain

Abstract

See Hansson and Mormino (doi:10.1093/brain/awy065) for a scientific commentary on this article.Our objective was to compare different whole-brain and region-specific measurements of within-person change on serial tau PET and evaluate its utility for clinical trials. We studied 126 individuals: 59 cognitively unimpaired with normal amyloid, 37 cognitively unimpaired with abnormal amyloid, and 30 cognitively impaired with an amnestic phenotype and abnormal amyloid. All had baseline amyloid PET and two tau PET, MRI, and clinical assessments. We compared the topography across all cortical regions of interest of tau PET accumulation rates and the rates of four different whole-brain or region-specific meta-regions of interest among the three clinical groups. We computed sample size estimates for change in tau PET, cortical volume, and memory/mental status indices for use as outcome measures in clinical trials. The cognitively unimpaired normal amyloid group had no observable tau accumulation throughout the brain. Tau accumulation rates in cognitively unimpaired abnormal amyloid were low [0.006 standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR), 0.5%, per year] but greater than rates in the cognitively unimpaired normal amyloid group in the basal and mid-temporal, retrosplenial, posterior cingulate, and entorhinal regions of interest. Thus, the earliest elevation in accumulation rates was widespread and not confined to the entorhinal cortex. Tau accumulation rates in the cognitively impaired abnormal amyloid group were 0.053 SUVR (3%) per year and greater than rates in cognitively unimpaired abnormal amyloid in all cortical areas except medial temporal. Rates of accumulation in the four meta-regions of interest differed but only slightly from one another. Among all tau PET meta-regions of interest, sample size estimates were smallest for a temporal lobe composite within cognitively unimpaired abnormal amyloid and for the late Alzheimer's disease meta-region of interest within cognitively impaired abnormal amyloid. The ordering of the sample size estimates by outcome measure was MRI < tau PET < cognitive measures. At a group-wise level, observable rates of short-term serial tau accumulation were only seen in the presence of abnormal amyloid. As disease progressed to clinically symptomatic stages (cognitively impaired abnormal amyloid), observable rates of tau accumulation were seen uniformly throughout the brain providing evidence that tau does not accumulate in one area at a time or in start-stop, stepwise sequence. The information captured by rate measures in different meta-regions of interest, even those with little topographic overlap, was similar. The implication is that rate measurements from simple meta-regions of interest, without the need for Braak-like staging, may be sufficient to capture progressive within-person accumulation of pathologic tau. Tau PET SUVR measures should be an efficient outcome measure in disease-modifying clinical trials.

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Crossref · 10.1093/brain/awy059

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  • Aβ deposition is a necessary antecedent for spread of tau beyond the temporal lobe in AD.

    “Longitudinal deposition in tau PET is associated with baseline levels tau and Aβ deposition is a necessary antecedent for spread of tau beyond the temporal lobe in AD [189, 190] (Fig. 3).”

    From The use of neuroimaging techniques in the early and differential diagnosis of dementia (2023) · cites this paper as [189]

    The Discussion (page not specified in our copy) reports observable group-level tau accumulation only in participants with abnormal amyloid and describes amyloidosis as a possible upstream driver. It does not establish that Aβ deposition is a necessary antecedent for tau spread beyond the temporal lobe; the study’s group-level observations cannot demonstrate that requirement for every individual. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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  • Brain imaging has helped improve the biological classification of AD by allowing proposed classifications based on pathology, like the ATN staging, to be applied in vivo and opened a new window of therapeutic intervention at preclinical stages.

    “Brain imaging has helped to improve the biological classification of AD by allowing proposed classifications based on pathology, like the ATN staging, to be applied in vivo and opened a new window of therapeutic intervention at preclinical stages.”

    From The use of neuroimaging techniques in the early and differential diagnosis of dementia (2023) · cites this paper as [189]

    Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

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  • Longitudinal deposition in tau PET is associated with baseline levels of tau.

    “Longitudinal deposition in tau PET is associated with baseline levels tau and Aβ deposition is a necessary antecedent for spread of tau beyond the temporal lobe in AD [189, 190] (Fig. 3).”
  • Brain imaging has improved understanding of the role of mixed pathologies in dementia.

    “Such imaging has also improved our understanding of the role of mixed pathologies in dementia [102, 175, 189, 247].”

    From The use of neuroimaging techniques in the early and differential diagnosis of dementia (2023) · cites this paper as [189]

    The Methods section (page unavailable) says amyloid PET criteria and an amnestic presentation were used to select a relatively homogeneous Alzheimer’s-continuum group. The Discussion (page unavailable) addresses tau accumulation, not the role of mixed pathologies in dementia. Searches for mixed pathology and coexisting vascular or Lewy body pathology found no passage addressing the attributed claim. (LLM, conf=0.75)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Cross-sectional and longitudinal human cohort biomarker studies support a scenario in which amyloid pathology precedes tau pathology and then neurodegeneration.

    “In contrast, cross-sectional and longitudinal human cohort studies of biomarkers support a scenario in which amyloid pathology (Aβ42 lowering in CSF, positive amyloid PET imaging) precedes tau pathology (tau-PET and phospho-Tau elevation in CSF) and then neurodegeneration 126-128 .”

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Lowe V, Wiste H, Senjem M, Weigand S, Therneau TM, Boeve B, Widespread brain Tau and its association with aging, braak stage, and Alzheimer’s dementia. Brain 2018; 147: 271– 87. PMC5837250 29228201
  2. McKhann GM, Knopman DS, Chertkow H, Hyman BT, Jack CR Jr, Kawas CH, The diagnosis of dementia due to Alzheimer's disease: recommendations from the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Assocation Workgroup. Alzheimers Dement 2011; 7: 263– 9. 21514250 PMC3312024

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Authors
Jack, C. R., Wiste, H. J., Schwarz, C. G., Lowe, V. J., Senjem, M. L., Vemuri, P., Weigand, S. D., Therneau, T. M., Knopman, D. S., Gunter, J. L., Jones, D. T., Graff-Radford, J., Kantarci, K., Roberts, R. O., Mielke, M. M., Machulda, M. M., & Petersen, R. C.
Affiliations
  • Mayo Clinic (US)
  • Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
Corresponding author
Jack, Clifford R
Venue
Brain
Published
2018-03-12
Volume
141
Issue
5
Pages
1517-1528
ISSN
  • 0006-8950 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2156
OpenAlex
W2791135917
Cited by
452
References
54
Citations by year
2026: 36 · 2025: 56 · 2024: 61 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 55 · 2021: 75 · 2020: 56 · 2019: 46 · 2018: 18
FWCI
37.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Brain (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
NIH (R01 AG011378, R01 AG041851, U01 AG006786, R01 AG034676, R01 NS097495, P50 AG016574)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Medical Imaging Techniques and Applications
Keywords
tau PET, Alzheimer's disease, amyloid PET, within-person change, sample size determination, clinical trial outcome measures, amyloid-beta, entorhinal cortex, temporal lobe, cognitive impairment, cortical volume, memory decline, brain atrophy
MeSH terms
Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Alzheimer Disease, Brain, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, tau Proteins, Positron-Emission Tomography, Cognitive Dysfunction

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