| 1. |
- Franzmeier, Nicolai, et al.
(författare)
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Earlier Alzheimer's disease onset is associated with a shift of tau pathology towards brain hubs which facilitates tau spreading
- 2022
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Ingår i: Alzheimer's and Dementia. - : Wiley. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279. ; 18:S1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), younger symptom onset is associated accelerated cognitive decline and tau spreading, yet the drivers of faster disease manifestation in patients with earlier symptom onset are unknown. Earlier symptom onset is associated with stronger tau pathology in fronto-parietal regions which typically harbor globally connected hubs that are central for cognition. Since tau spreads across connected regions, globally connected hubs may accelerate tau spreading due to their large number of connections to other brain regions. Thus, we hypothesized that a pattern shift of tau pathology towards globally connected brain hubs may facilitate tau spreading and earlier symptom manifestation in AD. Method: We included two independent samples with longitudinal Flortaucipir tau-PET covering the AD spectrum (ADNI: n(controls/AD-preclinical/AD-symptomatic)=93/60/89, BioFINDER, n(controls/AD-preclinical/AD-symptomatic)=16/16/25). In addition, we included resting-state fMRI from human connectome project participants (n=1000), applying a 200-ROI brain atlas to obtain a global connectivity map for assessing brain hubs (Fig.1A-D). Applying the same atlas to tau-PET we transformed SUVRs to tau positivities using a pre-established gaussian-mixture modeling approach (Fig.1E-F). By mapping tau-PET positivities to the fMRI-derived global connectivity map (Fig.1G-L), we assessed the degree to which subject specific tau-PET patterns were shifted towards globally connected hubs or non-hubs, while adjusting for global tau levels. Using linear regression, we then tested whether a stronger shift of tau towards hubs was associated with earlier symptom manifestation and faster longitudinal tau accumulation. Result: In symptomatic AD patients, younger age was associated with a stronger shift of tau-PET towards globally connected brain hubs (p[ADNI/BiOFINDER]=0.024/0.018, Fig.2A&B), and with higher global connectivity of epicenters with highest tau pathology (p[ADNI/BiOFINDER]<0.001/0.001, Fig.2C&D). In symptomatic AD, younger age (p[ADNI/BiOFINDER]=0.009/0.001) and a stronger shift of tau-PET towards hubs predicted faster subsequent tau accumulation (p[ADNI/BiOFINDER]=0.004/0.002), supporting the view that that hubs facilitate tau spreading (Fig.3). Further, a stronger shift of tau-PET towards globally connected brain hubs mediated the association between younger age and faster tau accumulation in symptomatic AD patients (p[ADNI/BiOFINDER]=0.039/0.046). Conclusion: Younger AD symptom onset is associated with stronger tau pathology in globally connected brain hubs, which facilitates faster tau spreading.
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| 2. |
- Franzmeier, Nicolai, et al.
(författare)
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Patient-centered connectivity-based prediction of tau pathology spread in Alzheimer's disease
- 2020
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Ingår i: Science Advances. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 2375-2548. ; 6:48
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Alzheimer's disease (AD), the Braak staging scheme suggests a stereotypical tau spreading pattern that does, however, not capture interindividual variability in tau deposition. This complicates the prediction of tau spreading, which may become critical for defining individualized tau-PET readouts in clinical trials. Since tau is assumed to spread throughout connected regions, we used functional connectivity to improve tau spreading predictions over Braak staging methods. We included two samples with longitudinal tau-PET from controls and AD patients. Cross-sectionally, we found connectivity of tau epicenters (i.e., regions with earliest tau) to predict estimated tau spreading sequences. Longitudinally, we found tau accumulation rates to correlate with connectivity strength to patient-specific tau epicenters. A connectivity-based, patient-centered tau spreading model improved the assessment of tau accumulation rates compared to Braak stage-specific readouts and reduced sample sizes by ~40% in simulated tau-targeting interventions. Thus, connectivity-based tau spreading models may show utility in clinical trials.
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| 3. |
- Frontzkowski, Lukas, et al.
(författare)
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Earlier Alzheimer’s disease onset is associated with tau pathology in brain hub regions and facilitated tau spreading
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), younger symptom onset is associated with accelerated disease progression and tau spreading, yet the mechanisms underlying faster disease manifestation are unknown. To address this, we combined resting-state fMRI and longitudinal tau-PET in two independent samples of controls and biomarker-confirmed AD patients (ADNI/BioFINDER, n = 240/57). Consistent across both samples, we found that younger symptomatic AD patients showed stronger tau-PET in globally connected fronto-parietal hubs, i.e., regions that are critical for maintaining cognition in AD. Stronger tau-PET in hubs predicted faster subsequent tau accumulation, suggesting that tau in globally connected regions facilitates connectivity-mediated tau spreading. Further, stronger tau-PET in hubs mediated the association between younger age and faster tau accumulation in symptomatic AD patients, which predicted faster cognitive decline. These independently validated findings suggest that younger AD symptom onset is associated with stronger tau pathology in brain hubs, and accelerated tau spreading throughout connected brain regions and cognitive decline.
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