Longitudinal tau accumulation and atrophy in aging and alzheimer disease
Harrison TM, La Joie R, Maass A, Baker SL, Swinnerton K, Fenton L, Mellinger TJ, Edwards L et al.. Annals of neurology, 2019-01-17
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective To determine the rate of tau accumulation in healthy older adults (OA) and patients with Alzheimer disease (AD), as well as the relationship of tau accumulation to cortical atrophy. Methods Two longitudinal flortaucipir (FTP) positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were acquired from 42 OA (21 Pittsburg compound B [PiB] + , age = 77.6 ± 4.6 years, 25 female [F]/17 male [M]) and 19 PiB + patients with AD (age = 63.1 ± 10.3 years, 12 F/7 M) over 1 to 3 years of follow-up. FTP change, structural MRI measures of atrophy, and cross-modal correlations were examined on a voxelwise level. Regional annual percentage change in FTP was also calculated. Results Voxelwise FTP change in AD showed the greatest increases in lateral and medial frontal lobes. Atrophy over the same interval was more widespread and included posteromedial cortical areas, where tau accumulation rates were lower. In OA, FTP binding increased in bilateral temporal lobe and retrosplenial cortex, accompanied by atrophy in the same regions. There were no associations between voxelwise change in FTP and sex, PiB, or APOE. Regional FTP significantly increased at follow-up in OA and patients with AD. Mixed effects models showed greater FTP increases in AD compared to OA, and no differences within OA based on PiB status. Interpretation Our findings indicate that tau accumulates even in amyloid-negative healthy OA and this process can be measured with in vivo tau-PET. In OA, tau accumulation and atrophy share a similar topography. In AD, tau increases more rapidly and accumulation occurs in frontal regions that are not yet undergoing significant atrophy. Ann Neurol 2019; 1-12 ANN NEUROL 2019;85:229-240.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Harrison, T. M., La Joie, R., Maass, A., Baker, S. L., Swinnerton, K., Fenton, L., et al. (2019). Longitudinal tau accumulation and atrophy in aging and alzheimer disease. Annals of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.25406
Vancouver
Harrison TM, La Joie R, Maass A, Baker SL, Swinnerton K, Fenton L, et al. Longitudinal tau accumulation and atrophy in aging and alzheimer disease. Annals of neurology. 2019. doi:10.1002/ana.25406. PMID: 30597624.
BibTeX
@article{harrison2019-30597624,
author = {Harrison, T. M. and La Joie, R. and Maass, A. and Baker, S. L. and Swinnerton, K. and Fenton, L. and Mellinger, T. J. and Edwards, L. and others},
title = {{Longitudinal tau accumulation and atrophy in aging and alzheimer disease}},
journal = {Annals of neurology},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1002/ana.25406},
pmid = {30597624},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.25406}
}
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
- Results Voxelwise FTP change in AD showed the greatest increases in lateral and medial frontal lobes.
- Regional FTP significantly increased at follow-up in OA and patients with AD.
- Mixed effects models showed greater FTP increases in AD compared to OA, and no differences within OA based on PiB status.
- Interpretation Our findings indicate that tau accumulates even in amyloid-negative healthy OA and this process can be measured with in vivo tau-PET.
- In AD, tau increases more rapidly and accumulation occurs in frontal regions that are not yet undergoing significant atrophy.
Why it matters
This longitudinal PET study found that tau accumulates over time even in healthy older adults who do not have amyloid, and that tau increases faster in people with Alzheimer disease. It suggests tau buildup can be tracked in living people, but it does not test any treatment or show that lowering tau changes outcomes.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Genetics →
Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 64/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Annals of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Annals of Neurology: journal h-index 437 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| 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 | 2 / 5 | 2019 — 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 271 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 30.1 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 20.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 20 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 71 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author William J. Jagust: h-index 152 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, Berkeley: institution h-index 2,012 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30597624) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 64 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
Related
Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 24.
Later studies that cite this one
20 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Genetics
Also tagged “phosphorylated”
733 studies in the library carry the topic tag “phosphorylated”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 733 tagged studies.