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Tau Positron Emission Tomography for Predicting Dementia in Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment
Groot C, Smith R, Collij LE, Mastenbroek SE, Stomrud E, Binette AP, Leuzy A, Palmqvist S et al.. JAMA neurology, 2024-08-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Main outcomes and measures Positive results on tau PET (temporal meta-region of interest), Aβ PET (global; expressed in the standardized metric Centiloids), and MRI (Alzheimer disease [AD] signature region) was assessed using quantitative thresholds and visual reads. Results In the discovery cohort, the mean (SD) age was 70.9 (8.5) years, 191 (58%) were male, the mean (SD) MMSE score was 27.1 (1.9), and 110 individuals with MCI (33%) converted to dementia (71 to AD dementia). Compared to the base model (AUC, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.69-0.82), prediction of AD dementia in the discovery cohort was significantly improved by including tau PET (AUC, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.79-0.89; P Conclusions and relevance In this study, tau-PET showed the best performance as a stand-alone marker to predict progression to dementia among individuals with MCI. This suggests that, for prognostic purposes in MCI, a tau PET scan may be the best currently available neuroimaging marker.
Key findings
- Main outcomes and measures Positive results on tau PET (temporal meta-region of interest), Aβ PET (global; expressed in the standardized metric Centiloids), and MRI (Alzheimer disease [AD] signature region) was assessed using quantitative thresholds and visual reads.
- Results In the discovery cohort, the mean (SD) age was 70.9 (8.5) years, 191 (58%) were male, the mean (SD) MMSE score was 27.1 (1.9), and 110 individuals with MCI (33%) converted to dementia (71 to AD dementia).
- Compared to the base model (AUC, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.69-0.82), prediction of AD dementia in the discovery cohort was significantly improved by including tau PET (AUC, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.79-0.89; P < .001), tau PET visual read (AUC, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.78-0.88; P = .001), and Aβ PET Centiloids (AUC, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.78-0.88; P = .03).
- This suggests that, for prognostic purposes in MCI, a tau PET scan may be the best currently available neuroimaging marker.
Why it matters
In people with mild cognitive impairment, tau PET was the best single imaging marker for predicting who would progress to dementia. This is about prognosis and prediction, not about a treatment or cure for Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants110
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 70/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| 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 | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following 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 | 4 / 5 | 2024 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 110 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 | 4 / 7 | Cited 63 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 15.8 citations a year over 4 year(s) since 2024 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 17.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 10 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 63 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Oskar Hansson: h-index 148 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, San Francisco: institution h-index 1,915 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 12 institution(s) in 5 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 38857029) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 70 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2024.1612
- PubMed: 38857029
- 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
Groot, C., Smith, R., Collij, L. E., Mastenbroek, S. E., Stomrud, E., Binette, A. P., et al. (2024). Tau Positron Emission Tomography for Predicting Dementia in Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment. JAMA neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2024.1612
Vancouver
Groot C, Smith R, Collij LE, Mastenbroek SE, Stomrud E, Binette AP, et al. Tau Positron Emission Tomography for Predicting Dementia in Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment. JAMA neurology. 2024. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2024.1612. PMID: 38857029.
BibTeX
@article{groot2024-38857029,
author = {Groot, C. and Smith, R. and Collij, L. E. and Mastenbroek, S. E. and Stomrud, E. and Binette, A. P. and Leuzy, A. and Palmqvist, S. and others},
title = {{Tau Positron Emission Tomography for Predicting Dementia in Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment}},
journal = {JAMA neurology},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2024.1612},
pmid = {38857029},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2024.1612}
}
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