Longitudinal brain MRI and tauPET provide novel insights for Alzheimer’s Disease trial planning

Motivation: Anatomical MRI plays an important role in Alzheimer’s Disease drug trials, yet the information it provides may not be fully utilized. Goal(s): Regional brain volume and its atrophy in conjunction with amyloid- and tau-PET can provide valuable information about disease progression and treatment response. Approach: Local brain atrophy was quantified and correlated with PET biomarkers. Results: Significant correlation was reported between atrophy and baseline tau-PET in the medial-temporal region as well as robust associations with disease stage and amyloid burden. These findings can be used to understand disease development and therefore capture modulation in pathology with anti-tau and other therapies in trials. Impact: Understanding the relationships between brain volumetrics, disease severity and tau burden, including significant correlation between medial-temporal atrophy and tauPET presented in this study allows for efficient measurement of treatment response in AD trials.