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Locus coeruleus-entorhinal cortex tract integrity is linked to plasma tau and glial fibrillary acidic protein
Yuliya Patsyuk, Maxime Van Egroo, Elise Beckers, Elouise A Koops, Nicholas J Ashton, Shorena Janelidze, Kaj Blennow, Oskar Hansson et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2025-12
Topic: Plasma and spinal-fluid biomarkers
Worse overall and local LC-EC integrity, indicated by lower fractional anisotropy (FA) and higher mean diffusivity (MD), was related to elevated concentrations of plasma phosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau181), p-tau217, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). A higher orientation dispersion index (ODI) within the LC-EC tract was linked to elevated plasma p-tau181 and p-tau231 levels. The lower integrity of the LC-EC pathway may serve as a key indicator of the earliest AD-related pathophysiological processes to improve detection of at-risk individuals. HIGHLIGHTS: Standard DTI model metrics in the LC- EC tract are linked to elevated plasma p-tau and GFAP. A higher ODI in the voxels containing the LC-EC tract is related to elevated plasma p-tau. LC-EC integrity links to AD-related biomarkers show topographic specificity. Lower LC-EC integrity may be a key indicator of the earliest AD-related pathology.
Key findings
- Worse overall and local LC-EC integrity, indicated by lower fractional anisotropy (FA) and higher mean diffusivity (MD), was related to elevated concentrations of plasma phosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau181), p-tau217, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).
- A higher orientation dispersion index (ODI) within the LC-EC tract was linked to elevated plasma p-tau181 and p-tau231 levels.
- The lower integrity of the LC-EC pathway may serve as a key indicator of the earliest AD-related pathophysiological processes to improve detection of at-risk individuals.
- HIGHLIGHTS: Standard DTI model metrics in the LC- EC tract are linked to elevated plasma p-tau and GFAP.
- A higher ODI in the voxels containing the LC-EC tract is related to elevated plasma p-tau.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 50/100
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. 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, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 28 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 50 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 | 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 | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 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 | — / 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 41319161) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 28 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 28 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 50 out of 100. |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Patsyuk, Y., Van Egroo, M., Beckers, E., Koops, E. A., Ashton, N. J., Janelidze, S., et al. (2025). Locus coeruleus-entorhinal cortex tract integrity is linked to plasma tau and glial fibrillary acidic protein. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70915
Vancouver
Patsyuk Y, Van Egroo M, Beckers E, Koops EA, Ashton NJ, Janelidze S, et al. Locus coeruleus-entorhinal cortex tract integrity is linked to plasma tau and glial fibrillary acidic protein. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2025. doi:10.1002/alz.70915. PMID: 41319161.
BibTeX
@article{patsyuk2025-41319161,
author = {Patsyuk, Yuliya and Van Egroo, Maxime and Beckers, Elise and Koops, Elouise A and Ashton, Nicholas J and Janelidze, Shorena and Blennow, Kaj and Hansson, Oskar and others},
title = {{Locus coeruleus-entorhinal cortex tract integrity is linked to plasma tau and glial fibrillary acidic protein}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/alz.70915},
pmid = {41319161},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70915}
}