Tau imaging with 18 F-Flortaucipir FAMILY PET in Alzheimer’s illness. The figure reveals a prototypical tau build-up pattern, acquired by comparing tau load of clients with Alzheimer’s illness vs healthy controls. The blue-to-white color scale shows more noticable tau loads, with pink-white locations representing those with the greatest build-up. Credit: UNIGE
A group from UNIGE-HUG showcases the worth of imaging in determining tau protein in the brain, a predictor of cognitive decrease due to Alzheimer’s illness.
< period class ="glossaryLink" aria-describedby ="tt" data-cmtooltip ="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>Alzheimer’s</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Alzheimer's disease is a disease that attacks the brain, causing a decline in mental ability that worsens over time. It is the most common form of dementia and accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases. There is no current cure for Alzheimer's disease, but there are medications that can help ease the symptoms.</div>" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" >Alzheimer’s illness is a typical neurodegenerative condition that leads to a progressive decrease in memory and self-reliance.It’s identified by the accumulation of damaging proteins in the brain, particularly amyloid plaques and tau tangles.Due to the quiet advancement of pathology over years, extremely early medical diagnosis is of utmost value to be able to act as early as possible in the illness procedure.
Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) have actually revealed that tau family pet– an unique imaging method for imagining the tau protein– can forecast cognitive decrease in clients better than the imaging strategies generally utilized.
These results, released in Alzheimer’s & &Dementia:(************************************************************************************************************************ )(**************************************************************************************************************************************************** )of the Alzheimer’s Association, argue in favor of the quick intro of tau family pet into the medical regular to offer clients with early and customized options.
Today, among the primary diagnostic tools for Alzheimer’s illness is positron emission tomography (FAMILY PET), an imaging method in which tracers are injected to imagine particular pathological procedures in the brain. “family pet includes injecting clients with low-level radioactive tracers that vanish within a couple of hours.
They are created to bind to the human particles that we wish to discover, making them noticeable with the family pet tomographs,” discusses Valentina Garibotto, Associate Professor in the Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics at UNIGE Faculty of Medicine and Head Physician in the Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at the HUG, who directed this research study.
“Specific tracers for amyloid exist for two decades, and tracers to monitor glucose metabolism, which indicates the brain’s ability to use its energy resources correctly, have long existed. However, Alzheimer’s disease is complex and these two techniques are not enough to provide all the answers.”
Comparing imaging strategies
Flortaucipir is a radiotracer that binds to the tau protein. It was established by a pharmaceutical business and authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in2020 It permits the detection of tau build-up along with its circulation in the brain to exactly examine its function in the medical symptom of the illness.
Scientists from the UNIGE and the HUG wished to identify which imaging method– amyloid family pet, glucose metabolic process family pet, or tau family pet– would best forecast future cognitive decrease due to Alzheimer’s illness. Around 90 individuals were hired at the HUG Memory Centre.
“Our results show that while the various PET measures were all associated with the presence of cognitive symptoms, confirming their role as strong indicators of Alzheimer’s disease, tau PET was the best to predict the rate of cognitive decline, even in individuals with minimal symptoms,” sums up Cecilia Boccalini, aPh D. trainee in Professor Garibotto’s group and very first author of this research study.
Detecting specific variations
Amyloid plaques are not always accompanied by cognitive or amnesia. However, the existence of tau goes together with medical signs. Its lack or existence is the primary factor of whether a client’s condition stays steady or degrades quickly. It has actually been harder to establish imaging strategies to imagine tau, generally since of its lower concentration and especially intricate structure.
“This breakthrough is crucial for better management of Alzheimer’s disease. Recently, drugs targeting amyloid have shown positive results. New drugs targeting the tau protein also look promising. By detecting the pathology as early as possible, before the brain is further damaged, and thanks to new treatments, we hope to be able to make a greater impact on patients’ future and quality of life,” Valentina Garibotto explains. “Similarly, we are beginning to map the distribution of tau in order to understand how its location in the different regions of the brain influences symptoms.”
Indeed, the causes and various phases of the illness are showing to be much less consistent than formerly believed, and specific vulnerability to the exact same phenomena requires to be much better comprehended.
These outcomes are a strong argument in favor of integrating tau family pet into the regular medical assessment to examine specific diagnosis and choose the most suitable restorative technique for each client.
Reference: “The impact of tau deposition and hypometabolism on cognitive impairment and longitudinal cognitive decline” by Cecilia Boccalini, Federica Ribaldi, Ines Hristovska, Annachiara Arnone, Débora Elisa Peretti, Linjing Mu, Max Scheffler, Daniela Perani, Giovanni B. Frisoni and Valentina Garibotto, 9 August 2023, Alzheimer’s & & Dementia
DOI: 10.1002/ alz.13355
