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Four distinct trajectories of tau deposition identified in Alzheimer's disease
Vogel JW, Young AL, Oxtoby NP, Smith R, Ossenkoppele R, Strandberg OT, La Joie R, Aksman LM et al.. Nature medicine, 2021-04-29
Topic: Plasma and spinal-fluid biomarkers
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the spread of tau pathology throughout the cerebral cortex. This spreading pattern was thought to be fairly consistent across individuals, although recent work has demonstrated substantial variability in the population with AD. Using tau-positron emission tomography scans from 1,612 individuals, we identified 4 distinct spatiotemporal trajectories of tau pathology, ranging in prevalence from 18 to 33%. We replicated previously described limbic-predominant and medial temporal lobe-sparing patterns, while also discovering posterior and lateral temporal patterns resembling atypical clinical variants of AD. These 'subtypes' were stable during longitudinal follow-up and were replicated in a separate sample using a different radiotracer. The subtypes presented with distinct demographic and cognitive profiles and differing longitudinal outcomes. Additionally, network diffusion models implied that pathology originates and spreads through distinct corticolimbic networks in the different subtypes. Together, our results suggest that variation in tau pathology is common and systematic, perhaps warranting a re-examination of the notion of 'typical AD' and a revisiting of tau pathological staging.
Key findings
- This spreading pattern was thought to be fairly consistent across individuals, although recent work has demonstrated substantial variability in the population with AD.
- Together, our results suggest that variation in tau pathology is common and systematic, perhaps warranting a re-examination of the notion of 'typical AD' and a revisiting of tau pathological staging.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants1,612
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 71/100
Published in a top-tier 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. 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 and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 41 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 71 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 10 / 10 | Tier 1 — top-tier general journal (Nature medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| 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 | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,612 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 | — / 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 |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 33927414) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 41 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 41 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 71 out of 100. |
| Total | 71 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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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
Vogel, J. W., Young, A. L., Oxtoby, N. P., Smith, R., Ossenkoppele, R., Strandberg, O. T., et al. (2021). Four distinct trajectories of tau deposition identified in Alzheimer's disease. Nature medicine. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01309-6
Vancouver
Vogel JW, Young AL, Oxtoby NP, Smith R, Ossenkoppele R, Strandberg OT, et al. Four distinct trajectories of tau deposition identified in Alzheimer's disease. Nature medicine. 2021. doi:10.1038/s41591-021-01309-6. PMID: 33927414.
BibTeX
@article{vogel2021-33927414,
author = {Vogel, J. W. and Young, A. L. and Oxtoby, N. P. and Smith, R. and Ossenkoppele, R. and Strandberg, O. T. and La Joie, R. and Aksman, L. M. and others},
title = {{Four distinct trajectories of tau deposition identified in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Nature medicine},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1038/s41591-021-01309-6},
pmid = {33927414},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01309-6}
}
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