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18F-MK-6240 PET for early and late detection of neurofibrillary tangles
Pascoal TA, Therriault J, Benedet AL, Savard M, Lussier FZ, Chamoun M, Tissot C, Qureshi MNI et al.. Brain : a journal of neurology, 2020-09-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Braak stages of tau neurofibrillary tangle accumulation have been incorporated in the criteria for the neuropathological diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. It is expected that Braak staging using brain imaging can stratify living individuals according to their individual patterns of tau deposition, which may prove crucial for clinical trials and practice. However, previous studies using the first-generation tau PET agents have shown a low sensitivity to detect tau pathology in areas corresponding to early Braak histopathological stages (∼20% of cognitively unimpaired elderly with tau deposition in regions corresponding to Braak I-II), in contrast to ∼80-90% reported in post-mortem cohorts.
Key findings
- It is expected that Braak staging using brain imaging can stratify living individuals according to their individual patterns of tau deposition, which may prove crucial for clinical trials and practice.
- However, previous studies using the first-generation tau PET agents have shown a low sensitivity to detect tau pathology in areas corresponding to early Braak histopathological stages (∼20% of cognitively unimpaired elderly with tau deposition in regions corresponding to Braak I-II), in contrast to ∼80-90% reported in post-mortem cohorts.
- Here, we tested whether the novel high affinity tau tangles tracer 18F-MK-6240 can better identify individuals in the early stages of tau accumulation.
- To this end, we studied 301 individuals (30 cognitively unimpaired young, 138 cognitively unimpaired elderly, 67 with mild cognitive impairment, 54 with Alzheimer's disease dementia, and 12 with frontotemporal dementia) with amyloid-β 18F-NAV4694, tau 18F-MK-6240, MRI, and clinical assessments. 18F-MK-6240 standardized uptake value ratio images were acquired at 90-110 min after the tracer injection. 18F-MK-6240 discriminated Alzheimer's disease dementia from mild cognitive impairment and frontotemporal dementia with high accuracy (∼85-100%). 18F-MK-6240 recapitulated topographical patterns consistent with the six hierarchical stages proposed by Braak in 98% of our population.
Why it matters
This study evaluated 18F-MK-6240 PET for detecting tau tangles and notes that first-generation tau PET agents had low sensitivity for early Braak stages. It is about imaging, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Participants301
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 58/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Brain : a journal of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Brain: journal h-index 503 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 301 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 254 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 31.8 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 21.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 24 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 120 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Pedro Rosa‐Neto: h-index 89 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | McGill University: institution h-index 1,373 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32671408) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 58 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Pascoal, T. A., Therriault, J., Benedet, A. L., Savard, M., Lussier, F. Z., Chamoun, M., et al. (2020). 18F-MK-6240 PET for early and late detection of neurofibrillary tangles. Brain : a journal of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awaa180
Vancouver
Pascoal TA, Therriault J, Benedet AL, Savard M, Lussier FZ, Chamoun M, et al. 18F-MK-6240 PET for early and late detection of neurofibrillary tangles. Brain : a journal of neurology. 2020. doi:10.1093/brain/awaa180. PMID: 32671408.
BibTeX
@article{pascoal2020-32671408,
author = {Pascoal, T. A. and Therriault, J. and Benedet, A. L. and Savard, M. and Lussier, F. Z. and Chamoun, M. and Tissot, C. and Qureshi, M. N. I. and others},
title = {{18F-MK-6240 PET for early and late detection of neurofibrillary tangles}},
journal = {Brain : a journal of neurology},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1093/brain/awaa180},
pmid = {32671408},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awaa180}
}
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