Integrated 18F-T807 Tau PET, Structural MRI, and Plasma Tau in Tauopathy Neurodegenerative Disorders

• Published in: Frontiers in aging neuroscience 2021-03, Vol.13, p.646440
• Main Authors: Li, Cheng-Hsuan, Chen, Ta-Fu, Chiu, Ming-Jang, Yen, Ruoh-Fang, Shih, Ming-Chieh, Lin, Chin-Hsien
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 18F-T807; Alzheimer's disease; Atrophy; Basal ganglia; biomarker; Biomarkers; Central nervous system diseases; corticobasal syndrome (CBS); Dementia disorders; Frontotemporal dementia; Globus pallidus; Magnetic resonance imaging; Movement disorders; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neuroimaging; Neuroscience; Paralysis; Parkinson's disease; Positron emission tomography; Progressive supranuclear palsy; progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP); Tau PET; Tau protein; tauopathies; Tomography
• ISSN: 1663-4365; 1663-4365
• DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.646440

Background and Objective: Tau-specific positron emission topography (PET) imaging enables in vivo assessment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We aimed to investigate its performance in combination with plasma tau levels in patients with non-AD tauopathy. Methods: A total of 47 participants were enrolled, including 10 healthy controls, 16 with tauopathy parkinsonism syndromes (9 with corticobasal syndrome [CBS], 7 with progressive supranuclear palsy [PSP]), 9 with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), 4 with AD, and 8 with Parkinson's disease (PD). All participants underwent clinical assessments, 18 F-T807 tau PET, brain MRI, and plasma tau assay. Results: The global cortical standard uptake value ratio (SUVR) of 18 F-T807 PET was comparable between PD and control ( p = 0.088). The cortical SUVR was significantly higher in AD group ( p = 0.002) but was modestly increased in PSP group compared to the PD group ( p = 0.044), especially in parietal and pallidal regions. Asymmetric 18 F-T807 uptake at the pallidum was noted in patients with CBS and FTD. Cortical tau tracer uptake was associated with increased plasma total tau level ( p = 0.016), especially in frontal and parietal regions. Regional tracer uptake was correlated with cortical thinning in patients with CBS and PSP (CBS: r = −0.092, p = 0.025; PSP: r = −0.114, p = 0.015). Conclusions: The 18 F-T807 tau tracer uptake was only modestly increased in patients with PSP. Although the cortical tau tracer uptake correlated with regional cortical atrophy and plasma tau levels, a four-repeated tau-specific tracer is needed for future classifying tauopathy parkinsonism syndromes.