Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Age-related tau-PET uptake and its downstream effects extend beyond the medial temporal lobe in cognitively normal older adults

Wuestefeld, Anika ; Berron, David LU ; Binette, Alexa Pichet LU ; van Westen, Danielle LU orcid ; Stomrud, Erik LU orcid ; Mattsson-Carlgren, Niklas LU orcid ; Strandberg, Olof LU ; Smith, Ruben LU ; Palmqvist, Sebastian LU orcid and Glenn, Trevor , et al. (2022) In Alzheimer's and Dementia 18(S1).
Abstract

Background: Amyloid-beta (Aβ) is hypothesized to facilitate the spread of tau pathology beyond the medial temporal lobe (MTL). However, there is evidence that age-related Aβ-independent tau pathology is present outside the MTL (Kaufman et al., Acta Neuropathol, 2018). We examine tau deposition determined by positron emission tomography (PET) in regions typically involved earlier/later in AD and downstream effects on neurodegeneration and cognition in cognitively unimpaired older adults and a low-Aβ subgroup. Methods: We included 488 adults (40-91 years; low-Aβ: n=355, 65.2±11.5 years) from the BioFINDER-2 study. MTL volumes (dentate gyrus, subiculum (SUB), cornu ammonis 1) and thickness (entorhinal cortex, Brodmann areas (BA)35/36, and... (More)

Background: Amyloid-beta (Aβ) is hypothesized to facilitate the spread of tau pathology beyond the medial temporal lobe (MTL). However, there is evidence that age-related Aβ-independent tau pathology is present outside the MTL (Kaufman et al., Acta Neuropathol, 2018). We examine tau deposition determined by positron emission tomography (PET) in regions typically involved earlier/later in AD and downstream effects on neurodegeneration and cognition in cognitively unimpaired older adults and a low-Aβ subgroup. Methods: We included 488 adults (40-91 years; low-Aβ: n=355, 65.2±11.5 years) from the BioFINDER-2 study. MTL volumes (dentate gyrus, subiculum (SUB), cornu ammonis 1) and thickness (entorhinal cortex, Brodmann areas (BA)35/36, and parahippocampal cortex) were obtained, using Automated Segmentation for Hippocampal Subfields packages for T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance images. Thickness of early/late neocortical AD-regions (anterior cingulate, precuneus/posterior cingulate (PPC), orbitofrontal, inferior parietal cortex; and middle frontal, lateral occipital, and precentral/postcentral gyrus) was determined using FreeSurfer. [18F]RO948- and [18F]flutemetamol-PET standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) were calculated for local tau and global/local Aβ. Aβ status was determined using Aβ-PET or cerebrospinal fluid Aβ-42/40 ratio. Global cognition was measured using delayed word-list recall, trail making test B, and animal fluency. Results: Increasing age was associated with higher tau-PET SUVRs primarily in MTL/frontal/parietal regions. A significant association between age and local tau-PET remained even when including Aβ-PET as a mediator (Fig. 1). Age and local tau-PET, but not Aβ-PET, where negatively associated with structure in most examined regions (Figs. 2-3). Age-structure associations were serially mediated via tau-PET in regions with early AD pathology (SUB/BA35/PPC). Also, in the low-Aβ subgroup, tau-PET mediated the age-structure (SUB/BA35/PPC) associations (Fig. 3D). Finally, the age-global cognition relationship was serially mediated via MTL tau-PET and subiculum volume, even when including global Aβ-PET as additional mediator (Fig. 4). Conclusion: We observe partially Aβ-independent associations between age and tau-PET signal across the neocortex. Interestingly, partially Aβ-independent tau-PET signal appears to mediate the age-structure associations in and outside the MTL (PPC), also in the low-Aβ group, and the age-MTL structure-cognition associations. This potentially provides in vivo support for Primary Age-related Tauopathy downstream effects on structure, beyond the MTL, and cognition.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Alzheimer's and Dementia
volume
18
issue
S1
article number
e067081
publisher
Wiley
external identifiers
  • scopus:85144446468
ISSN
1552-5260
DOI
10.1002/alz.067081
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
243ffa97-040d-46c3-bf96-3a2adf2bcafa
date added to LUP
2023-01-12 16:07:28
date last changed
2024-02-02 07:58:12
@misc{243ffa97-040d-46c3-bf96-3a2adf2bcafa,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Amyloid-beta (Aβ) is hypothesized to facilitate the spread of tau pathology beyond the medial temporal lobe (MTL). However, there is evidence that age-related Aβ-independent tau pathology is present outside the MTL (Kaufman et al., Acta Neuropathol, 2018). We examine tau deposition determined by positron emission tomography (PET) in regions typically involved earlier/later in AD and downstream effects on neurodegeneration and cognition in cognitively unimpaired older adults and a low-Aβ subgroup. Methods: We included 488 adults (40-91 years; low-Aβ: n=355, 65.2±11.5 years) from the BioFINDER-2 study. MTL volumes (dentate gyrus, subiculum (SUB), cornu ammonis 1) and thickness (entorhinal cortex, Brodmann areas (BA)35/36, and parahippocampal cortex) were obtained, using Automated Segmentation for Hippocampal Subfields packages for T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance images. Thickness of early/late neocortical AD-regions (anterior cingulate, precuneus/posterior cingulate (PPC), orbitofrontal, inferior parietal cortex; and middle frontal, lateral occipital, and precentral/postcentral gyrus) was determined using FreeSurfer. [<sup>18</sup>F]RO948- and [<sup>18</sup>F]flutemetamol-PET standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) were calculated for local tau and global/local Aβ. Aβ status was determined using Aβ-PET or cerebrospinal fluid Aβ-42/40 ratio. Global cognition was measured using delayed word-list recall, trail making test B, and animal fluency. Results: Increasing age was associated with higher tau-PET SUVRs primarily in MTL/frontal/parietal regions. A significant association between age and local tau-PET remained even when including Aβ-PET as a mediator (Fig. 1). Age and local tau-PET, but not Aβ-PET, where negatively associated with structure in most examined regions (Figs. 2-3). Age-structure associations were serially mediated via tau-PET in regions with early AD pathology (SUB/BA35/PPC). Also, in the low-Aβ subgroup, tau-PET mediated the age-structure (SUB/BA35/PPC) associations (Fig. 3D). Finally, the age-global cognition relationship was serially mediated via MTL tau-PET and subiculum volume, even when including global Aβ-PET as additional mediator (Fig. 4). Conclusion: We observe partially Aβ-independent associations between age and tau-PET signal across the neocortex. Interestingly, partially Aβ-independent tau-PET signal appears to mediate the age-structure associations in and outside the MTL (PPC), also in the low-Aβ group, and the age-MTL structure-cognition associations. This potentially provides in vivo support for Primary Age-related Tauopathy downstream effects on structure, beyond the MTL, and cognition.</p>}},
  author       = {{Wuestefeld, Anika and Berron, David and Binette, Alexa Pichet and van Westen, Danielle and Stomrud, Erik and Mattsson-Carlgren, Niklas and Strandberg, Olof and Smith, Ruben and Palmqvist, Sebastian and Glenn, Trevor and Hansson, Oskar and Wisse, Laura E.M.}},
  issn         = {{1552-5260}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{S1}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley}},
  series       = {{Alzheimer's and Dementia}},
  title        = {{Age-related tau-PET uptake and its downstream effects extend beyond the medial temporal lobe in cognitively normal older adults}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/alz.067081}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/alz.067081}},
  volume       = {{18}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}