scholarly journals The accumulation rate of tau aggregates is higher in females and younger amyloid-positive subjects

Brain ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruben Smith ◽  
Olof Strandberg ◽  
Niklas Mattsson-Carlgren ◽  
Antoine Leuzy ◽  
Sebastian Palmqvist ◽  
...  

Abstract The development of tau-PET allows paired helical filament tau pathology to be visualized in vivo. Increased knowledge about conditions affecting the rate of tau accumulation could guide the development of therapies halting the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. However, the factors modifying the rate of tau accumulation over time in Alzheimer’s disease are still largely unknown. Large-scale longitudinal cohort studies, adjusting for baseline tau load, are needed to establish such risk factors. In the present longitudinal study, 419 participants from four cohorts in the USA (Avid 05e, n = 157; Expedition-3, n = 82; ADNI, n = 123) and Sweden (BioFINDER, n = 57) were scanned repeatedly with tau-PET. The study participants were cognitively unimpaired (n = 153), or patients with mild cognitive impairment (n = 139) or Alzheimer’s disease dementia (n = 127). Participants underwent two to four tau-PET (18F-flortaucipir) scans with a mean (± standard deviation) of 537 (±163) days between the first and last scan. The change in tau-PET signal was estimated in temporal meta- and neocortical regions of interest. Subject specific tau-PET slopes were predicted simultaneously by age, sex, amyloid status (determined by amyloid-β PET), APOE ε4 genotype, study cohort, diagnosis and baseline tau load. We found that accelerated increase in tau-PET signal was observed in amyloid-β-positive mild cognitive impairment (3.0 ± 5.3%) and Alzheimer’s disease dementia (2.9 ± 5.7%), respectively, when compared to either amyloid-β-negative cognitively unimpaired (0.4 ± 2.7%), amyloid-β-negative mild cognitive impairment (−0.4 ± 2.3%) or amyloid-β-positive cognitively unimpaired (1.2 ± 2.8%). Tau-PET uptake was accelerated in females (temporal region of interest: t = 2.86, P = 0.005; neocortical region of interest: t = 2.90, P = 0.004), younger individuals (temporal region of interest: t = −2.49, P = 0.013), and individuals with higher baseline tau-PET signal (temporal region of interest: t = 3.83, P < 0.001; neocortical region of interest: t = 5.01, P < 0.001). Tau-PET slopes decreased with age in amyloid-β-positive subjects, but were stable by age in amyloid-β-negative subjects (age × amyloid-β status interaction: t = −2.39, P = 0.018). There were no effects of study cohort or APOE ε4 positivity. In a similar analysis on longitudinal amyloid-β-PET (in ADNI subjects only, n = 639), we found significant associations between the rate of amyloid-β accumulation and APOE ε4 positivity, older age and baseline amyloid-β positivity, but no effect of sex. In conclusion, in this longitudinal PET study comprising four cohorts, we found that the tau accumulation rate is greater in females and younger amyloid-β-positive individuals, while amyloid-β accumulation is greater in APOE ε4 carriers and older individuals. These findings are important considerations for the design of clinical trials, and might improve our understanding of factors associated with faster tau aggregation and spread.

Brain ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (9) ◽  
pp. 2818-2830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tharick A Pascoal ◽  
Joseph Therriault ◽  
Andrea L Benedet ◽  
Melissa Savard ◽  
Firoza Z Lussier ◽  
...  

Abstract Braak stages of tau neurofibrillary tangle accumulation have been incorporated in the criteria for the neuropathological diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. It is expected that Braak staging using brain imaging can stratify living individuals according to their individual patterns of tau deposition, which may prove crucial for clinical trials and practice. However, previous studies using the first-generation tau PET agents have shown a low sensitivity to detect tau pathology in areas corresponding to early Braak histopathological stages (∼20% of cognitively unimpaired elderly with tau deposition in regions corresponding to Braak I–II), in contrast to ∼80–90% reported in post-mortem cohorts. Here, we tested whether the novel high affinity tau tangles tracer 18F-MK-6240 can better identify individuals in the early stages of tau accumulation. To this end, we studied 301 individuals (30 cognitively unimpaired young, 138 cognitively unimpaired elderly, 67 with mild cognitive impairment, 54 with Alzheimer’s disease dementia, and 12 with frontotemporal dementia) with amyloid-β 18F-NAV4694, tau 18F-MK-6240, MRI, and clinical assessments. 18F-MK-6240 standardized uptake value ratio images were acquired at 90–110 min after the tracer injection. 18F-MK-6240 discriminated Alzheimer’s disease dementia from mild cognitive impairment and frontotemporal dementia with high accuracy (∼85–100%). 18F-MK-6240 recapitulated topographical patterns consistent with the six hierarchical stages proposed by Braak in 98% of our population. Cognition and amyloid-β status explained most of the Braak stages variance (P < 0.0001, R2 = 0.75). No single region of interest standardized uptake value ratio accurately segregated individuals into the six topographic Braak stages. Sixty-eight per cent of the cognitively unimpaired elderly amyloid-β-positive and 37% of the cognitively unimpaired elderly amyloid-β-negative subjects displayed tau deposition, at least in the transentorhinal cortex (Braak I). Tau deposition solely in the transentorhinal cortex was associated with an elevated prevalence of amyloid-β, neurodegeneration, and cognitive impairment (P < 0.0001). 18F-MK-6240 deposition in regions corresponding to Braak IV–VI was associated with the highest prevalence of neurodegeneration, whereas in Braak V–VI regions with the highest prevalence of cognitive impairment. Our results suggest that the hierarchical six-stage Braak model using 18F-MK-6240 imaging provides an index of early and late tau accumulation as well as disease stage in preclinical and symptomatic individuals. Tau PET Braak staging using high affinity tracers has the potential to be incorporated in the diagnosis of living patients with Alzheimer’s disease in the near future.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Yi-Wen Bao ◽  
Anson C.M. Chau ◽  
Patrick Ka-Chun Chiu ◽  
Yat Fung Shea ◽  
Joseph S.K. Kwan ◽  
...  

Background: With the more widespread use of 18F-radioligand-based amyloid-β (Aβ) PET-CT imaging, we evaluated Aβ binding and the utility of neocortical 18F-Flutemetamol standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) as a biomarker. Objective: 18F-Flutemetamol SUVR was used to differentiate 1) mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and 2) MCI from other non-AD dementias (OD). Methods: 109 patients consecutively recruited from a University memory clinic underwent clinical evaluation, neuropsychological test, MRI and 18F-Flutemetamol PET-CT. The diagnosis was made by consensus of a panel consisting of 1 neuroradiologist and 2 geriatricians. The final cohort included 13 subjective cognitive decline (SCD), 22 AD, 39 MCI, and 35 OD. Quantitative analysis of 16 region-of-interests made by Cortex ID software (GE Healthcare). Results: The global mean 18F-Flutemetamol SUVR in SCD, MCI, AD, and OD were 0.50 (SD-0.08), 0.53 (SD-0.16), 0.76 (SD-0.10), and 0.56 (SD-0.16), respectively, with SUVR in SCD and MCI and OD being significantly lower than AD. Aβ binding in SCD, MCI, and OD was heterogeneous, being 23%, 38.5%, and 42.9% respectively, as compared to 100% amyloid positivity in AD. Using global SUVR, ROC analysis showed AUC of 0.868 and 0.588 in differentiating MCI from AD and MCI from OD respectively. Conclusion: 18F-Flutemetamol SUVR differentiated MCI from AD with high efficacy (high negative predictive value), but much lower efficacy from OD. The major benefit of the test was to differentiate cognitively impaired patients (either SCD, MCI, or OD) without AD-related-amyloid-pathology from AD in the clinical setting, which was under-emphasized in the current guidelines proposed by Amyloid Imaging Task Force.


Brain ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 137 (5) ◽  
pp. 1550-1561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niklas Mattsson ◽  
Duygu Tosun ◽  
Philip S. Insel ◽  
Alix Simonson ◽  
Clifford R Jack ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 472-480
Author(s):  
Yulin Luo ◽  
Li Tan ◽  
Joseph Therriault ◽  
Hua Zhang ◽  
Ying Gao ◽  
...  

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Apolipoprotein E (<i>APOE</i>) ε4 is highly associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the specific influence of <i>APOE</i> ε4 status on tau pathology and cognitive decline in early MCI (EMCI) and late MCI (LMCI) is poorly understood. Our goal was to evaluate the association of <i>APOE</i> ε4 with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tau levels and cognition in EMCI and LMCI patients in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database, and whether this association was mediated by amyloid-β (Aβ). <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Participants were 269 cognitively normal (CN), 262 EMCI, and 344 LMCI patients. They underwent CSF Aβ42 and tau detection, <i>APOE</i> ε4 genotyping, Mini-Mental State Examination, (MMSE), and Alzheimer’s disease assessment scale (ADAS)-cog assessments. Linear regressions were used to examine the relation of <i>APOE</i> ε4 and CSF tau levels and cognitive scores in persons with and without Aβ deposition (Aβ+ and Aβ−). <b><i>Results:</i></b> The prevalence of <i>APOE</i> ε4 is higher in EMCI and LMCI than in CN (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001 for both), and in LMCI than in EMCI (<i>p</i> = 0.001). <i>APOE</i> ε4 allele was significantly higher in Aβ+ subjects than in Aβ− subjects (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). Subjects who had a lower CSF Aβ42 level and were <i>APOE</i> ε4-positive experienced higher levels of CSF tau and cognitive scores in EMCI and/or LMCI. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> An <i>APOE</i> ε4 allele is associated with increased CSF tau and worse cognition in both EMCI and LMCI, and this association may be mediated by Aβ. We conclude that <i>APOE</i> ε4 may be an important mediator of tau pathology and cognition in the early stages of AD.


2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (s3) ◽  
pp. S91-S98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zdena Kristofikova ◽  
Jan Ricny ◽  
Michaela Kolarova ◽  
Martin Vyhnalek ◽  
Jakub Hort ◽  
...  

Brain ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (11) ◽  
pp. 3234-3241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niklas Mattsson-Carlgren ◽  
Shorena Janelidze ◽  
Sebastian Palmqvist ◽  
Nicholas Cullen ◽  
Anna L Svenningsson ◽  
...  

Abstract Plasma levels of tau phosphorylated at threonine-217 (p-tau217) is a candidate tool to monitor Alzheimer’s disease. We studied 150 cognitively unimpaired participants and 100 patients with mild cognitive impairment in the Swedish BioFINDER study. P-tau217 was measured repeatedly for up to 6 years (median three samples per person, median time from first to last sample, 4.3 years). Preclinical (amyloid-β-positive cognitively unimpaired, n = 62) and prodromal (amyloid-β-positive mild cognitive impairment, n = 49) Alzheimer’s disease had accelerated p-tau217 compared to amyloid-β-negative cognitively unimpaired (β  =  0.56, P &lt; 0.001, using linear mixed effects models) and amyloid-β-negative mild cognitive impairment patients (β  =  0.67, P &lt; 0.001), respectively. Mild cognitive impairment patients who later converted to Alzheimer’s disease dementia (n = 40) had accelerated p-tau217 compared to other mild cognitive impairment patients (β  =  0.79, P &lt; 0.001). P-tau217 did not change in amyloid-β-negative participants, or in patients with mild cognitive impairment who did not convert to Alzheimer’s disease dementia. For 80% power, 109 participants per arm were required to observe a slope reduction in amyloid-β-positive cognitively unimpaired (71 participants per arm in amyloid-β-positive mild cognitive impairment). Longitudinal increases in p-tau217 correlated with longitudinal worsening of cognition and brain atrophy. In summary, plasma p-tau217 increases during early Alzheimer’s disease and can be used to monitor disease progression.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. P933-P933
Author(s):  
Hanna Cho ◽  
Jae Yong Choi ◽  
Mi Song Hwang ◽  
Young Hoon Ryu ◽  
Myung Sik Lee ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1535
Author(s):  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Edward S. Hui ◽  
Peng Cao ◽  
Henry K. F. Mak

Previous studies have demonstrated that the accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) pathologies has distinctive stage-specific effects on the structural and functional brain networks along the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) continuum. A more comprehensive account of both types of brain network may provide a better characterization of the stage-specific effects of Aβ pathologies. A potential candidate for this joint characterization is the coupling between the structural and functional brain networks (SC-FC coupling). We therefore investigated the effect of Aβ accumulation on global SC-FC coupling in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), AD, and healthy controls. Patients with MCI were dichotomized according to their level of Aβ pathology seen in 18F-flutemetamol PET-CT scans—namely, Aβ-negative and Aβ-positive. Our results show that there was no difference in global SC-FC coupling between different cohorts. During the prodromal AD stage, there was a significant negative correlation between the level of Aβ pathology and the global SC-FC coupling of MCI patients with positive Aβ, but no significant correlation for MCI patients with negative Aβ. During the AD dementia stage, the correlation between Aβ pathology and global SC-FC coupling in patients with AD was positive. Our results suggest that Aβ pathology has distinctive stage-specific effects on global coupling between the structural and functional brain networks along the AD continuum.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Delli Pizzi ◽  
Miriam Punzi ◽  
Stefano L Sensi ◽  

AbstractThe entorhinal-hippocampal circuit is a strategic hub for memory but also the first site to be affected in the Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)-related pathology. We investigated MRI patterns of brain atrophy and functional connectivity in a study cohort obtained from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database including healthy control (HC), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and AD subjects. MCI individuals were clinically evaluated 24 months after the MRI scan, and the group further divided into a subset of subjects who either did (c-MCI) or did not (nc-MCI) convert to AD. Compared to HC subjects, AD patients exhibited a collapse of long-range connectivity from the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, pronounced cortical/sub-cortical atrophy, and a dramatic decline in cognitive performances. c-MCI patients showed entorhinal and hippocampal hypo-connectivity, no signs of cortical thinning but evidence of right hippocampus atrophy. On the contrary, nc-MCI patients showed lack of brain atrophy, largely preserved cognitive functions, hippocampal and entorhinal hyper-connectivity with selected neocortical/sub-cortical regions mainly involved in memory processing and brain meta-stability. This hyper-connectivity can represent an early compensatory strategy to overcome the progression of cognitive impairment. This functional signature can also be employed for the diagnosis of c-MCI subjects.


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