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Tau positron emission tomographic imaging in aging and early Alzheimer disease
Johnson KA, Schultz A, Betensky RA, Becker JA, Sepulcre J, Rentz D, Mormino E, Chhatwal J et al.. Annals of neurology, 2015-12-15
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective Detection of focal brain tau deposition during life could greatly facilitate accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD), staging and monitoring of disease progression, and development of disease-modifying therapies. Methods We acquired tau positron emission tomography (PET) using (18)F T807 (AV1451), and amyloid-β PET using (11)C Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) in older clinically normal individuals, and symptomatic patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild AD dementia. Results We found abnormally high cortical (18)F T807 binding in patients with mild cognitive impairment and AD dementia compared to clinically normal controls. Consistent with the neuropathology literature, the presence of elevated neocortical (18)F T807 binding particularly in the inferior temporal gyrus was associated with clinical impairment. The association of cognitive impairment was stronger with inferior temporal (18)F T807 than with mean cortical (11)C PIB. Regional (18)F T807 was correlated with mean cortical (11)C PiB among both impaired and control subjects. Interpretation These findings suggest that (18)F T807 PET could have value as a biomarker that reflects both the progression of AD tauopathy and the emergence of clinical impairment.
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APA 7th
Johnson, K. A., Schultz, A., Betensky, R. A., Becker, J. A., Sepulcre, J., Rentz, D., et al. (2016). Tau positron emission tomographic imaging in aging and early Alzheimer disease. Annals of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.24546
Vancouver
Johnson KA, Schultz A, Betensky RA, Becker JA, Sepulcre J, Rentz D, et al. Tau positron emission tomographic imaging in aging and early Alzheimer disease. Annals of neurology. 2016. doi:10.1002/ana.24546. PMID: 26505746.
BibTeX
@article{johnson2016-26505746,
author = {Johnson, K. A. and Schultz, A. and Betensky, R. A. and Becker, J. A. and Sepulcre, J. and Rentz, D. and Mormino, E. and Chhatwal, J. and others},
title = {{Tau positron emission tomographic imaging in aging and early Alzheimer disease}},
journal = {Annals of neurology},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1002/ana.24546},
pmid = {26505746},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.24546}
}
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Key findings
- Results We found abnormally high cortical (18)F T807 binding in patients with mild cognitive impairment and AD dementia compared to clinically normal controls.
- Consistent with the neuropathology literature, the presence of elevated neocortical (18)F T807 binding particularly in the inferior temporal gyrus was associated with clinical impairment.
- Interpretation These findings suggest that (18)F T807 PET could have value as a biomarker that reflects both the progression of AD tauopathy and the emergence of clinical impairment.
Why it matters
This study found that tau PET imaging showed abnormally high binding in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's dementia compared to normal controls. The authors suggest this imaging could be a biomarker for disease progression and clinical impairment, but it is not a treatment or cure.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
Limitations
The abstract does not specify the sample size or state how well the tau signal distinguished individuals at the person level, as opposed to just group averages, so its accuracy as a diagnostic tool isn't established from this text alone.
How this study scored 61/100
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 (Annals of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Annals of Neurology: journal h-index 437 (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 | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2016 — within 20 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 991 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 82.6 citations a year over 12 year(s) since 2016 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 64.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 5 / 6 | Cited by 120 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 210 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Reisa Anne Sperling: h-index 157 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26505746) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 61 / 100 | — |
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