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Defining patient-centered amyloid PET thresholds for the onset of tauopathy in Alzheimer's disease
Zeyu Zhu, Anna Steward, Amir Dehsarvi, Sebastian N Roemer-Cassiano, Anna Dewenter, Davina Biel, Fabian Hirsch, Lukas Frontzkowski et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2026-01
Topic: Plasma and spinal-fluid biomarkers
We found a consistent amyloid PET × age interaction on global tau PET increase in men (ADNI/A05: p = 0.0078/0.018), with younger men showing faster amyloid-associated tau accumulation. We then established patient-centered, amyloid PET-inferred tauopathy transition cut-offs. Women reached this transition at lower amyloid PET levels, and these cutoffs predicted both earlier onset and accelerated cognitive decline (p < 0.001). This study highlights the effect of age and sex on the amyloid-to-tauopathy transition, establishes patient-centered amyloid PET thresholds for tauopathy onset, and links these thresholds to accelerated cognitive decline. HIGHLIGHTS: Younger age is related to faster amyloid-related tau accumulation in men. We defined a series of amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) thresholds to enable patient-centered inference of amyloid-related tauopathy. Crossing the amyloid PET-defined tauopathy phase is associated with more progressive tau deposition and cognitive decline.
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APA 7th
Zhu, Z., Steward, A., Dehsarvi, A., Roemer-Cassiano, S. N., Dewenter, A., Biel, D., et al. (2026). Defining patient-centered amyloid PET thresholds for the onset of tauopathy in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71064
Vancouver
Zhu Z, Steward A, Dehsarvi A, Roemer-Cassiano SN, Dewenter A, Biel D, et al. Defining patient-centered amyloid PET thresholds for the onset of tauopathy in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2026. doi:10.1002/alz.71064. PMID: 41485137.
BibTeX
@article{zhu2026-41485137,
author = {Zhu, Zeyu and Steward, Anna and Dehsarvi, Amir and Roemer-Cassiano, Sebastian N and Dewenter, Anna and Biel, Davina and Hirsch, Fabian and Frontzkowski, Lukas and others},
title = {{Defining patient-centered amyloid PET thresholds for the onset of tauopathy in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1002/alz.71064},
pmid = {41485137},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71064}
}
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.
Key findings
- We found a consistent amyloid PET × age interaction on global tau PET increase in men (ADNI/A05: p = 0.0078/0.018), with younger men showing faster amyloid-associated tau accumulation.
- We then established patient-centered, amyloid PET-inferred tauopathy transition cut-offs.
- Women reached this transition at lower amyloid PET levels, and these cutoffs predicted both earlier onset and accelerated cognitive decline (p < 0.001).
- This study highlights the effect of age and sex on the amyloid-to-tauopathy transition, establishes patient-centered amyloid PET thresholds for tauopathy onset, and links these thresholds to accelerated cognitive decline.
- HIGHLIGHTS: Younger age is related to faster amyloid-related tau accumulation in men.
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Study details
- Participants301
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multicenter collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 32 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 57 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| 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 | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multicenter collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41485137) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 32 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 32 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 57 out of 100. |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
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