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Intermediate flortaucipir uptake is associated with Aβ-PET and CSF tau in asymptomatic adults
McSweeney M, Pichet Binette A, Meyer PF, Gonneaud J, Bedetti C, Ozlen H, Labonté A, Rosa-Neto P et al.. Neurology, 2020-02-03
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Objective To investigate relationships between flortaucipir (FTP) uptake, age, and established Alzheimer disease (AD) markers in asymptomatic adults at increased risk of AD. Methods One-hundred nineteen individuals with a family history of AD (Presymptomatic Evaluation of Experimental or Novel Treatments of Alzheimer's Disease [PREVENT-AD] cohort, mean age 67 ± 5 years) underwent tau-PET ([ 18 F]FTP), β-amyloid (Aβ)-PET ([ 18 F]NAV4694 [NAV]), and cognitive assessment. Seventy-four participants also had CSF phosphorylated tau and total tau data available.
Key findings
- Methods One-hundred nineteen individuals with a family history of AD (Presymptomatic Evaluation of Experimental or Novel Treatments of Alzheimer's Disease [PREVENT-AD] cohort, mean age 67 ± 5 years) underwent tau-PET ([ 18 F]FTP), β-amyloid (Aβ)-PET ([ 18 F]NAV4694 [NAV]), and cognitive assessment.
- Seventy-four participants also had CSF phosphorylated tau and total tau data available.
- We investigated the association between age and FTP in this relatively young cohort of older adults.
- We also investigated regional FTP standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) differences between Aβ-positive and Aβ-negative individuals and regional correlations between FTP and NAV retention.
Why it matters
In 119 asymptomatic adults with a family history of Alzheimer's disease, intermediate flortaucipir uptake was associated with amyloid PET and cerebrospinal fluid tau. This is an observational study and does not show that any intervention changes these markers or prevents dementia.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 46/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people 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 | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 41 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.1 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 11 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Sylvia Villeneuve: h-index 48 (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 32015176) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 46 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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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
McSweeney, M., Pichet Binette, A., Meyer, P. F., Gonneaud, J., Bedetti, C., Ozlen, H., et al. (2020). Intermediate flortaucipir uptake is associated with Aβ-PET and CSF tau in asymptomatic adults. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000008905
Vancouver
McSweeney M, Pichet Binette A, Meyer PF, Gonneaud J, Bedetti C, Ozlen H, et al. Intermediate flortaucipir uptake is associated with Aβ-PET and CSF tau in asymptomatic adults. Neurology. 2020. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000008905. PMID: 32015176.
BibTeX
@article{mcsweeney2020-32015176,
author = {McSweeney, M. and Pichet Binette, A. and Meyer, P. F. and Gonneaud, J. and Bedetti, C. and Ozlen, H. and Labonté, A. and Rosa-Neto, P. and others},
title = {{Intermediate flortaucipir uptake is associated with Aβ-PET and CSF tau in asymptomatic adults}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000008905},
pmid = {32015176},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000008905}
}
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