Plasma Tau Association with Brain Atrophy in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease
Year: 2017
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Peripheral (plasma) and central (cerebrospinal fluid, CSF) measures of tau are higher in Alzheimer's disease (AD) relative to prodromal stages and controls. While elevated CSF tau concentrations have been shown to be associated with lower grey matter density (GMD) in AD-specific regions, this correlation has yet to be examined for plasma in a large study. OBJECTIVE: Determine the neuroanatomical correlates of plasma tau using voxel-based analysis. METHODS: Cross-sectional data for 508 ADNI participants were collected for clinical, plasma total-tau (t-tau), CSF amyloid (Aβ42) and tau, and MRI variables. The relationship between plasma tau and GMD and between CSF t-tau and GMD were assessed on a voxel-by-voxel basis using regression models. Age, sex, APOEɛ4 status, diagnosis, and total intracranial volume were used as covariates where appropriate. Participants were defined as amyloid positive (Aβ+) if CSF Aβ42 was <192 pg/mL. RESULTS: Plasma tau was negatively correlated with GMD in the medial temporal lobe (MTL), precuneus, thalamus, and striatum. The associations with thalamus and striatum were independent of diagnosis. A negative correlation also existed between plasma tau and GMD in Aβ+ participants in the MTL, precuneus, and frontal lobe. When compared to CSF t-tau, plasma tau showed a notably different associated brain atrophy pattern, with only small overlapping regions in the fusiform gyrus. CONCLUSION: Plasma tau may serve as a non-specific marker for neurodegeneration but is still relevant to AD considering low GMD was associated with plasma tau in Aβ+ participants and not Aβ-participants.
Source: Journal of Alzheimer s Disease
DOI: 10.3233/jad-161114
Institutions: Indiana University Indianapolis, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, State University of New York, State University of New York at Oswego, University of Gothenburg, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, University of Pennsylvania, University of California, San Francisco
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G104586243, Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, Sensory and Perceptual Measures as Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease Pathology, Integration of Bio-, Medical, and Imaging Informatics for Complex Diseases, Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, Integrating Neuroimaging, Multi-omics, and Clinical Data in Complex Disease, Memory Circuitry in MCI and Early Alzheimerâs Disease Prodrome: Molecular Drivers, Investigation of the Tau Gene Network and Quantitative Alzheimer's Disease Biomarker Phenotypes
OpenAlex ID: W2618524350