- 591studies in the library match, of 29,380
- 246name it in the title
- 2013–2026years published
- 560peer-reviewed articles
The query: title or abstract mentions "tau PET", "flortaucipir"/"Tauvid"/"AV-1451", "MK-6240", "PI-2620", "RO948" or "tau positron/imaging/tracer", matched case-insensitively against each record's title and abstract (its summary field) in alzhub's library of 29,380 study records, as of 2026-11-08. Every count on this page comes from that match. The matched list as JSON.
Tau tangles spread through the brain in a fairly predictable sequence, and the amount and location of tau on a PET scan matches how far memory and thinking have declined better than the amount of amyloid does. Flortaucipir was the first tracer approved for clinical use; others are used in research. Tau PET is used in trials to select participants and measure whether a treatment slows the spread.
This page describes what published research in alzhub's library reports. It is not medical advice and does not apply to any one person: a doctor who knows the person's history is the only one who can say what a result or a treatment means for them.
What the studies report, in their own words
Whole sentences copied from the abstract or key findings of the highest-scoring matched studies, chosen because they mention the subject and give a figure. 8 of the 591 matched records are quoted; each links to its study page and from there to the paper.
“In disease staging, while p-tau231 showed potential in detecting early amyloidosis, p-tau217_MS was superior for identifying advanced Tau-PET pathology (P-score = 0.91) and predicting MCI-to-dementia conversion (P-score = 0.82).”
“Among immunoassays, plasma p-tau217Lilly was more associated with Aβ-PET load than plasma p-tau217Janssen (Pdiff < 0.020) and with tau-PET load than both plasma p-tau217Janssen and plasma p-tau217ALZpath (all Pdiff < 0.010).”
“Sequential selection using plasma phosphorylated tau at threonine 217 (p-tau217) and then tau-PET reduced the number of participants required for a clinical trial by 94%, compared to a 76% reduction when using plasma p-tau217 alone.”
“PDCI patients (n = 109) had a significantly higher tau tracer uptake in the inferior temporal lobe than healthy controls (HCs) (n = 237) and had a higher tau tracer uptake in the entorhinal region than PD with normal cognition (PDNC) patients (n = 61).”
“An antecedent rise in Aβ was associated with subsequent changes in tau (1.07 flortaucipir standardized uptake value ratios [SUVr]/PiB-SUVr; 95% CI, 0.13-3.46; P = .02).”
“We studied 130 individuals across the aging and AD clinical spectrum with positron emission tomography brain imaging for microglial activation ([ 11 C]PBR28), amyloid-β (Aβ) ([ 18 F]AZD4694) and tau ([ 18 F]MK-6240) pathologies.”
“Plasma p-tau217+ had high accuracy for abnormal Aβ PET (areas under the curve [AUCs] = 81-86%), good correlation with Aβ-PET burden (0.336-0.397) that was highest in the cohort with the most Aβ-PET-positive participants, and the biomarker concentrations were highest in the joint Aβ-PET and tau-PET positive group.”
“In summary, evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease pathological changes provided by a combination of abnormal amyloid and tau PET examinations is strongly associated with short-term (that is, 3-5 years) cognitive decline in cognitively unimpaired individuals and is therefore of high clinical relevance.”
What kind of evidence it is
By study design
| Design (as recorded) | Studies |
|---|---|
| Systematic review or meta-analysis | 5 |
| Randomised controlled trial | 1 |
| Other clinical trial | 11 |
| Cohort or longitudinal study | 127 |
| Case-control study | 3 |
| Cross-sectional study | 62 |
| Other recorded design | 4 |
| No design recorded | 378 |
The design is the one named in alzhub's record for the study; a record with none is counted as "no design recorded".
By year
| Year | Studies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 65 | |
| 2025 | 111 | |
| 2024 | 51 | |
| 2023 | 47 | |
| 2022 | 44 | |
| 2021 | 61 | |
| 2020 | 52 | |
| 2019 | 40 | |
| 2018 | 42 | |
| 2017 | 40 | |
| 2016 and earlier | 38 |
Other counts within the matched set
| Peer-reviewed articles | 560 |
| Marked open access in the record | 250 |
| Rated "high" evidence strength in alzhub's summary | 14 |
| Rated "moderate" evidence strength in alzhub's summary | 212 |
| Rated "low" evidence strength in alzhub's summary | 362 |
| No evidence-strength rating | 3 |
| Records stating a participant count | 327 |
| Median participants (those records) | 200 |
| Largest participant count | 12,048 |
Within the 591 matched studies
| Studies… | Count | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| …that also mention amyloid PET | 120 | the abstract also contains "amyloid PET" or "amyloid imaging" |
| …that also mention plasma p-tau | 109 | the abstract also contains "plasma p-tau" or "p-tau217" |
| …that mention Braak staging | 50 | the abstract also contains "Braak" |
The 10 highest-scoring matched studies
Title matches first, then by alzhub's usefulness score, which rates a study's design, journal, evidence and recency, not whether its result is good news.
- Plasma p-tau217 and tau-PET predict future cognitive decline among cognitively unimpaired individuals: implications for clinical trials
- Tau-PET imaging in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Accuracy of Tau Positron Emission Tomography as a Prognostic Marker in Preclinical and Prodromal Alzheimer Disease: A Head-to-Head Comparison Against Amyloid Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Sex Differences in Longitudinal Tau-PET in Preclinical Alzheimer Disease: A Meta-Analysis
- Amyloid and tau PET-positive cognitively unimpaired individuals are at high risk for future cognitive decline
- Frequency and Clinical Outcomes Associated With Tau Positron Emission Tomography Positivity
- Associations of Plasma Phospho-Tau217 Levels With Tau Positron Emission Tomography in Early Alzheimer Disease
- Combining CSF MTBR-tau243 and plasma pTau217 ratio enhances the prediction of continuous regional tau PET burden in early Alzheimer's disease
- Updated appropriate use criteria for amyloid and tau PET: A report from the Alzheimer's Association and Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Workgroup
- Biomarker-Based Prediction of Longitudinal Tau Positron Emission Tomography in Alzheimer Disease
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the set
5 of the matched records are recorded as a systematic review, meta-analysis or umbrella review; the highest-scoring not already listed above:
- Diagnostic performance of plasma p-Tau217, p-Tau181, and p-Tau231 across the Alzheimer's disease continuum: a network meta-analysis
- In vivo tau PET imaging in dementia: Pathophysiology, radiotracer quantification, and a systematic review of clinical findings
Newest matched studies
- Large-scale head-to-head comparison of on- and off-target profiles of [18F]Tauvid and [18F]MK6240 tau-PET in aging and Alzheimer’s disease
- Tau-CTFP: A connectome-informed continuous-time first-passage model for forecasting the onset of regional tau PET abnormality
- Detection of tau spatial extent using MK6240 and flortaucipir PET
- Second-generation tau PET tracer in situ binding assessed with fluorescence imaging
- α-Synuclein Seed Amplification Status Modifies the Relationship Between Plasma p-tau217, Amyloid and Fibrillar Tau
Journals with the most matched studies
| Journal | Studies |
|---|---|
| Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association | 49 |
| Brain : a journal of neurology | 40 |
| Neurology | 38 |
| JAMA neurology | 35 |
| Alzheimer s & Dementia | 29 |
Questions
- What does a tau PET scan show?
- Where tau tangles have accumulated in the brain and how much. Because tau spreads as the disease advances, the scan relates to the stage of symptoms more closely than an amyloid scan does.
- How many studies on tau pet scans does alzhub hold?
- 591 of the 29,380 study records in alzhub's library match the query "title or abstract mentions "tau PET", "flortaucipir"/"Tauvid"/"AV-1451", "MK-6240", "PI-2620", "RO948" or "tau positron/imaging/tracer""; 246 of them name it in the title. Counted from the records when this page was built.
- What kinds of study are they?
- 5 systematic review or meta-analysis, 1 randomised controlled trial, 11 other clinical trials, 127 cohort or longitudinal studys, 3 case-control studys, 62 cross-sectional studys; 378 record no design.
- What is the most recent study in the set?
- "Large-scale head-to-head comparison of on- and off-target profiles of [18F]Tauvid and [18F]MK6240 tau-PET in aging and Alzheimer’s disease" (Research Square, 2026), the newest by publication date among the matched records.
- Which journals publish most on it?
- Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association (49); Brain : a journal of neurology (40); Neurology (38), counted across the matched records.
Read on
- Brain scans and testsPET, MRI and other tests: what they show and what they cost.
- Amyloid PET scan resultsThe scan for the other hallmark protein.