TY - JOUR
T1 - Characterization of Alzheimer Disease Biomarker Discrepancies Using Cerebrospinal Fluid Phosphorylated Tau and AV1451 Positron Emission Tomography
AU - Meyer, Pierre François
AU - Pichet Binette, Alexa
AU - Gonneaud, Julie
AU - Breitner, John C.S.
AU - Villeneuve, Sylvia
N1 - Funding Information:
this project by the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) were supported by National Institutes of Health grant U01-AG024904 and the US Department of Defense award W81XWH-12-2-0012. The ADNI is funded by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, and through generous contributions from AbbVie; the Alzheimer’s Association; Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation; Araclon Biotech; BioClinica Inc; Biogen; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; CereSpir Inc; Cogstate; Eisai Inc; Elan Pharmaceuticals Inc; Eli Lilly and Company; EuroImmun; F. Hoffmann–La Roche Ltd and its affiliated company Genentech Inc; Fujirebio; GE Healthcare; IXICO Ltd; Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy Research & Development LLC; Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development LLC; Lumosity; Lundbeck; Merck & Co Inc; MesoScale Diagnostics LLC; NeuroRx Research; Neurotrack Technologies; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Pfizer Inc; Piramal Imaging; Servier; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company; and Transition Therapeutics. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research supports ADNI clinical sites in Canada. Private sector contributions are facilitated by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health. The grantee organization is the Northern California Institute for Research and Education. The study is coordinated by the Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute at the University of Southern California. The ADNI data are disseminated by the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging at the University of Southern California.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/4
Y1 - 2020/4
N2 - Importance: Fluid and imaging biomarkers of Alzheimer disease (AD) are often used interchangeably, but some biomarkers may reveal earlier stages of disease. Objective: To characterize individuals with tau abnormality indicated by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) assay or positron emission tomography (PET). Design, Setting, and Participants: Between 2010 and 2019, 322 participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) underwent CSF and PET assessments of tau pathology. Data-driven, clinically relevant thresholds for CSF phosphorylated tau (P-tau) (≥26.64 pg/mL) and flortaucipir-PET meta-regions of interest (ROI) (standard uptake value ratio ≥1.37) indicated participants' tau status as CSF-/PET-, CSF+/PET-, CSF-/PET+, and CSF+/PET+. Of 1659 ADNI participants with a CSF or flortaucipir assessment, 588 had both measures (1071 were excluded). Among these, 266 were further excluded because they did not have flortaucipir and CSF testing within less than 25 months, leaving 322 for analysis. Of these, 213 were cognitively unimpaired (CU); 98 had mild cognitive impairment (MCI); and 11 had AD dementia. Main Outcomes and Measures: We compared tau-positive vs tau-negative groups as indicated by either modality or demographic and clinical variables, amyloid β-PET burden, and flortaucipir-PET binding across Braak stage-related ROIs. We also compared 5-year rates of CSF P-tau accumulation and cognitive decline prior to flortaucipir-PET scanning. Results: Among the 322 study participants, 180 were women (56%), and the mean (SD) age was 73.08 (7.37) years. Two hundred ten participants were CSF-/PET- (65%); 63 were CSF+/PET- (19.5%); 15 were CSF-/PET+ (4.6%); and 34 were CSF+/PET+ (10.5%). Most CSF-/PET+ participants had measures near CSF or PET tau thresholds. The CSF+/PET- participants showed faster 5-year accrual of P-tau and increased flortaucipir-PET binding in early Braak ROIs but similar memory decline compared with CSF-/PET- participants. Tau-positive individuals by either measure showed increased amyloid β-PET burden. All CSF+/PET+ individuals were amyloid-positive, and 26 had MCI or AD dementia (76%). Compared with the CSF-/PET- group, CSF+/PET+ individuals had experienced faster 5-year accrual of CSF P-tau and decline in memory and executive function, resulting in reduced cognitive abilities at the time of flortaucipir-PET assessment. Conclusions and Relevance: Suprathreshold CSF P-tau without flortaucipir-PET abnormality may indicate a stage of AD development characterized by early tau abnormality without measurable loss in cognitive performance. Persons with both tau CSF and PET abnormality appear to have reduced cognitive capacities resulting from faster antecedent cognitive decline. Elevation of CSF P-tau appears to precede flortaucipir-PET positivity in the progression of AD pathogenesis and related cognitive decline.
AB - Importance: Fluid and imaging biomarkers of Alzheimer disease (AD) are often used interchangeably, but some biomarkers may reveal earlier stages of disease. Objective: To characterize individuals with tau abnormality indicated by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) assay or positron emission tomography (PET). Design, Setting, and Participants: Between 2010 and 2019, 322 participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) underwent CSF and PET assessments of tau pathology. Data-driven, clinically relevant thresholds for CSF phosphorylated tau (P-tau) (≥26.64 pg/mL) and flortaucipir-PET meta-regions of interest (ROI) (standard uptake value ratio ≥1.37) indicated participants' tau status as CSF-/PET-, CSF+/PET-, CSF-/PET+, and CSF+/PET+. Of 1659 ADNI participants with a CSF or flortaucipir assessment, 588 had both measures (1071 were excluded). Among these, 266 were further excluded because they did not have flortaucipir and CSF testing within less than 25 months, leaving 322 for analysis. Of these, 213 were cognitively unimpaired (CU); 98 had mild cognitive impairment (MCI); and 11 had AD dementia. Main Outcomes and Measures: We compared tau-positive vs tau-negative groups as indicated by either modality or demographic and clinical variables, amyloid β-PET burden, and flortaucipir-PET binding across Braak stage-related ROIs. We also compared 5-year rates of CSF P-tau accumulation and cognitive decline prior to flortaucipir-PET scanning. Results: Among the 322 study participants, 180 were women (56%), and the mean (SD) age was 73.08 (7.37) years. Two hundred ten participants were CSF-/PET- (65%); 63 were CSF+/PET- (19.5%); 15 were CSF-/PET+ (4.6%); and 34 were CSF+/PET+ (10.5%). Most CSF-/PET+ participants had measures near CSF or PET tau thresholds. The CSF+/PET- participants showed faster 5-year accrual of P-tau and increased flortaucipir-PET binding in early Braak ROIs but similar memory decline compared with CSF-/PET- participants. Tau-positive individuals by either measure showed increased amyloid β-PET burden. All CSF+/PET+ individuals were amyloid-positive, and 26 had MCI or AD dementia (76%). Compared with the CSF-/PET- group, CSF+/PET+ individuals had experienced faster 5-year accrual of CSF P-tau and decline in memory and executive function, resulting in reduced cognitive abilities at the time of flortaucipir-PET assessment. Conclusions and Relevance: Suprathreshold CSF P-tau without flortaucipir-PET abnormality may indicate a stage of AD development characterized by early tau abnormality without measurable loss in cognitive performance. Persons with both tau CSF and PET abnormality appear to have reduced cognitive capacities resulting from faster antecedent cognitive decline. Elevation of CSF P-tau appears to precede flortaucipir-PET positivity in the progression of AD pathogenesis and related cognitive decline.
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U2 - 10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.4749
DO - 10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.4749
M3 - Article
C2 - 31961372
AN - SCOPUS:85077993930
SN - 2168-6149
VL - 77
SP - 508
EP - 516
JO - JAMA Neurology
JF - JAMA Neurology
IS - 4
ER -