Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Previous approaches pursuing in vivo staging of tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have typically relied on neuropathologically defined criteria. In using predefined systems, these studies may miss spatial deposition patterns which are informative of disease progression.
METHODS
We selected discovery (n = 418) and replication (n = 132) cohorts with flortaucipir imaging. Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) was applied to learn tau covariance patterns and develop a tau staging system. Flortaucipir components were also validated by comparison with amyloid burden, gray matter loss, and the expression of AD-related genes.
RESULTS
We found eight flortaucipir covariance patterns which were reproducible and overlapped with relevant gene expression maps. Tau stages were associated with AD severity as indexed by dementia status and neuropsychological performance. Comparisons of flortaucipir uptake with amyloid and atrophy also supported our model of tau progression.
DISCUSSION
Data-driven decomposition of flortaucipir uptake provides a novel framework for tau staging which complements existing systems.
Highlights
NMF reveals patterns of tau deposition in AD.
Data-driven staging of flortaucipir tracks AD severity.
Learned flortaucipir patterns overlap with AD-related gene expression.
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This post is Copyright: Tom Earnest,
Abdalla Bani,
Sung Min Ha,
Diana A. Hobbs,
Deydeep Kothapalli,
Braden Yang,
John J. Lee,
Tammie L. S. Benzinger,
Brian A. Gordon,
Aristeidis Sotiras,
for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative | April 30, 2024