Preliminary autopsy findings from the Harvard Aging Brain Study
Amyloid-β PET metrics correlated with amyloid-β plaque spatial distribution and density, while tau PET metrics correlated with tau NFT spatial distribution only after removing outliers. These outliers suggest that PET-neuropathologic discrepancies arise with tau PET more so than amyloid-β PET, and were driven by: primary age-related tauopathy, Braak NFT stage III; amyloid-β-driven tau spread ("ca-tau-strophe") between imaging and death; and variability and asymmetry in tau accumulation. In conclusion, individualized tau PET metrics that respect the heterogeneity in tauopathy may be better able to predict neuropathologic assessments.
Authors
- Jessie Fanglu Fu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4970-7811)
- Cristina Lois
- Teresa Gómez‐Isla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7977-2075)
- Julie C. Price
- M FARRELL
- Emma G. Thibault (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7873-742X)
- Charles D. Chen
- Cinthya Agüero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9483-429X)
- Alexandra Melloni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0657-5919)
- KA Johnson
- Reisa A. Sperling
Institutions
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging (US)
- Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Alzheimer s & Dementia
- Published
- 2025-12-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70862_110188
- Primary Topic
- Organ Donation and Transplantation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00