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Associations between tau, Aβ, and cortical thickness with cognition in Alzheimer disease
Ossenkoppele R, Smith R, Ohlsson T, Strandberg O, Mattsson N, Insel PS, Palmqvist S, Hansson O.. Neurology, 2019-01-09
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective To examine the cross-sectional associations between regional tau, β-amyloid (Aβ), and cortical thickness and neuropsychological function across the preclinical and clinical spectrum of Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods We included 106 participants from the Swedish Biomarkers for Identifying Neurodegenerative Disorders Early and Reliably (BioFINDER) study, of whom 33 had preclinical AD (Aβ-positive cognitively normal individuals), 25 had prodromal AD (Aβ-positive mild cognitive impairment), and 48 had probable AD dementia. All underwent [ 18 F]flortaucipir (tau) and structural MRI (cortical thickness), and 88 of 106 underwent [ 18 F]flutemetamol (Aβ) PET. Linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, and education were performed to examine associations between 7 regions of interest and 7 neuropsychological tests for all 3 imaging modalities. Results In preclinical AD, [ 18 F]flortaucipir, but not [ 18 F]flutemetamol or cortical thickness, was associated with decreased global cognition, memory, and processing speed (range standardized β = 0.35-0.52, p 18 F]flortaucipir uptake and reduced cortical thickness were associated with worse performance on a variety of neuropsychological tests (most regions of interest survived correction for multiple comparisons at p 18 F]flutemetamol uptake was specifically associated with lower scores on a delayed recall memory task ( p 18 F]flortaucipir and cortical thickness on cognition were found in the lateral and medial parietal cortex and lateral temporal cortex. The effect of [ 18 F]flutemetamol on cognition was generally weaker and less region specific. Conclusion Our findings suggest that tau PET is more sensitive than Aβ PET and measures of cortical thickness for detecting early cognitive changes in preclinical AD. Furthermore, both [ 18 F]flortaucipir PET and cortical thickness show strong cognitive correlates at the clinical stages of AD.
Key findings
- Results In preclinical AD, [ 18 F]flortaucipir, but not [ 18 F]flutemetamol or cortical thickness, was associated with decreased global cognition, memory, and processing speed (range standardized β = 0.35-0.52, p < 0.05 uncorrected for multiple comparisons).
- Conclusion Our findings suggest that tau PET is more sensitive than Aβ PET and measures of cortical thickness for detecting early cognitive changes in preclinical AD.
Why it matters
In preclinical Alzheimer's disease, tau PET was associated with decreased global cognition, memory, and processing speed, while amyloid PET and cortical thickness were not. This suggests tau imaging may be more sensitive for early cognitive changes, but it does not show that any treatment targeting tau helps patients.
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Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants106
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 67/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in 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 (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| 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 | 2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 106 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 317 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 35.2 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 26.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 27 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 128 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Oskar Hansson: h-index 148 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Lund University: institution h-index 1,119 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30626656) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 67 / 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 names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Ossenkoppele, R., Smith, R., Ohlsson, T., Strandberg, O., Mattsson, N., Insel, P. S., et al. (2019). Associations between tau, Aβ, and cortical thickness with cognition in Alzheimer disease. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000006875
Vancouver
Ossenkoppele R, Smith R, Ohlsson T, Strandberg O, Mattsson N, Insel PS, et al. Associations between tau, Aβ, and cortical thickness with cognition in Alzheimer disease. Neurology. 2019. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000006875. PMID: 30626656.
BibTeX
@article{ossenkoppele2019-30626656,
author = {Ossenkoppele, R. and Smith, R. and Ohlsson, T. and Strandberg, O. and Mattsson, N. and Insel, P. S. and Palmqvist, S. and Hansson, O.},
title = {{Associations between tau, Aβ, and cortical thickness with cognition in Alzheimer disease}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000006875},
pmid = {30626656},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000006875}
}
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