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A multicentre longitudinal study of flortaucipir (18F) in normal ageing, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease dementia
Pontecorvo MJ, Devous MD, Kennedy I, Navitsky M, Lu M, Galante N, Salloway S, Doraiswamy PM et al.. Brain : a journal of neurology, 2019-06-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
There was a statistically significant increase in the global estimate of cortical tau burden as measured by standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr) from baseline to 18 months in amyloid-β+ but not amyloid-β- subjects (least squared mean change in flortaucipir SUVr : 0.0524 ± 0.0085, P < 0.0001 and 0.0007 ± 0.0024 P = 0.7850, respectively), and a significant association between magnitude of SUVr increase and baseline tau burden. Voxel-wise evaluations further suggested that the regional pattern of change in flortaucipir PET SUVr over the 18-month study period (i.e. which regions exhibited the greatest change) also varied as a function of baseline global estimate of tau burden. Finally, baseline flortaucipir and change in flortaucipir SUVr were both significantly (P < 0.0001) associated with changes in cognitive performance. Taken together, these results provide a preliminary characterization of the longitudinal spread of tau in Alzheimer's disease and suggest that the amount and location of tau may have implications both for the spread of tau and the cognitive deterioration that may occur over an 18-month period.
Key findings
- There was a statistically significant increase in the global estimate of cortical tau burden as measured by standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr) from baseline to 18 months in amyloid-β+ but not amyloid-β- subjects (least squared mean change in flortaucipir SUVr : 0.0524 ± 0.0085, P < 0.0001 and 0.0007 ± 0.0024 P = 0.7850, respectively), and a significant association between magnitude of SUVr increase and baseline tau burden.
- Voxel-wise evaluations further suggested that the regional pattern of change in flortaucipir PET SUVr over the 18-month study period (i.e. which regions exhibited the greatest change) also varied as a function of baseline global estimate of tau burden.
- Finally, baseline flortaucipir and change in flortaucipir SUVr were both significantly (P < 0.0001) associated with changes in cognitive performance.
- Taken together, these results provide a preliminary characterization of the longitudinal spread of tau in Alzheimer's disease and suggest that the amount and location of tau may have implications both for the spread of tau and the cognitive deterioration that may occur over an 18-month period.
Why it matters
In this 18-month longitudinal study, cortical tau burden measured by flortaucipir PET increased significantly in amyloid-beta positive but not amyloid-beta negative participants, and both baseline tau and its change were associated with changes in cognitive performance. The authors describe these results as a preliminary characterization of how tau spreads in Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants202
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 72/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for 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 | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 202 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 251 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 27.9 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 21.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 34 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 86 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Mark A. Mintun: h-index 131 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Eli Lilly (United States): institution h-index 744 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31009046) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 72 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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
Pontecorvo, M. J., Devous, M. D., Kennedy, I., Navitsky, M., Lu, M., Galante, N., et al. (2019). A multicentre longitudinal study of flortaucipir (18F) in normal ageing, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease dementia. Brain : a journal of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awz090
Vancouver
Pontecorvo MJ, Devous MD, Kennedy I, Navitsky M, Lu M, Galante N, et al. A multicentre longitudinal study of flortaucipir (18F) in normal ageing, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease dementia. Brain : a journal of neurology. 2019. doi:10.1093/brain/awz090. PMID: 31009046.
BibTeX
@article{pontecorvo2019-31009046,
author = {Pontecorvo, M. J. and Devous, M. D. and Kennedy, I. and Navitsky, M. and Lu, M. and Galante, N. and Salloway, S. and Doraiswamy, P. M. and others},
title = {{A multicentre longitudinal study of flortaucipir (18F) in normal ageing, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease dementia}},
journal = {Brain : a journal of neurology},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1093/brain/awz090},
pmid = {31009046},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awz090}
}
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