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Positron Emission Tomography Imaging With [18F]flortaucipir and Postmortem Assessment of Alzheimer Disease Neuropathologic Changes
Fleisher AS, Pontecorvo MJ, Devous MD, Lu M, Arora AK, Truocchio SP, Aldea P, Flitter M et al.. JAMA neurology, 2020-07-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Main outcomes and measures [18F]flortaucipir PET images were visually assessed and compared with immunohistochemical tau pathology. Results A total of 156 patients were enrolled in the A16 study and underwent [18F]flortaucipir PET imaging. Addition of the supplemental autopsy data set and 3 test cases, which comprised a total of 82 patients and autopsies for both the A16 and FR01 studies, resulted in improved specificity and comparable overall accuracy. Conclusions and relevance This study's findings suggest that PET imaging with [18F]flortaucipir could be used to identify the density and distribution of AD-type tau pathology and the presence of high levels of AD neuropathological change, supporting a neuropathological diagnosis of AD.
Key findings
- Main outcomes and measures [18F]flortaucipir PET images were visually assessed and compared with immunohistochemical tau pathology.
- Results A total of 156 patients were enrolled in the A16 study and underwent [18F]flortaucipir PET imaging.
- Addition of the supplemental autopsy data set and 3 test cases, which comprised a total of 82 patients and autopsies for both the A16 and FR01 studies, resulted in improved specificity and comparable overall accuracy.
- Conclusions and relevance This study's findings suggest that PET imaging with [18F]flortaucipir could be used to identify the density and distribution of AD-type tau pathology and the presence of high levels of AD neuropathological change, supporting a neuropathological diagnosis of AD.
Why it matters
This study found that flortaucipir PET imaging could identify the density and distribution of Alzheimer's-type tau pathology and support a neuropathological diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. It is a diagnostic imaging study and does not report a treatment, cure or prevention.
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Study details
- Participants64
- Effect size92.3%; 79.7%; 97.3%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 69/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 66 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 69 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | JAMA Neurology: journal h-index 235 (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 | 1 / 4 | 64 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 449 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 56.1 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 37.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 51 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 212 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Stanford University: institution h-index 2,684 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 12 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32338734) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 66 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 66 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 69 out of 100. |
| Total | 69 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.0528
- PubMed: 32338734
- Original source →
- Free full text: JAMA Neurology →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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
Fleisher, A. S., Pontecorvo, M. J., Devous, M. D., Lu, M., Arora, A. K., Truocchio, S. P., et al. (2020). Positron Emission Tomography Imaging With [18F]flortaucipir and Postmortem Assessment of Alzheimer Disease Neuropathologic Changes. JAMA neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.0528
Vancouver
Fleisher AS, Pontecorvo MJ, Devous MD, Lu M, Arora AK, Truocchio SP, et al. Positron Emission Tomography Imaging With [18F]flortaucipir and Postmortem Assessment of Alzheimer Disease Neuropathologic Changes. JAMA neurology. 2020. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.0528. PMID: 32338734.
BibTeX
@article{fleisher2020-32338734,
author = {Fleisher, A. S. and Pontecorvo, M. J. and Devous, M. D. and Lu, M. and Arora, A. K. and Truocchio, S. P. and Aldea, P. and Flitter, M. and others},
title = {{Positron Emission Tomography Imaging With [18F]flortaucipir and Postmortem Assessment of Alzheimer Disease Neuropathologic Changes}},
journal = {JAMA neurology},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.0528},
pmid = {32338734},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.0528}
}
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