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The relationship between cerebrospinal fluid markers of Alzheimer pathology and positron emission tomography tau imaging
Gordon BA, Friedrichsen K, Brier M, Blazey T, Su Y, Christensen J, Aldea P, McConathy J et al.. Brain : a journal of neurology, 2016-06-10
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Plain-language summary
The two primary molecular pathologies in Alzheimer's disease are amyloid-β plaques and tau-immunoreactive neurofibrillary tangles. Investigations into these pathologies have been restricted to cerebrospinal fluid assays, and positron emission tomography tracers that can image amyloid-β plaques. Tau tracers have recently been introduced into the field, although the utility of the tracer and its relationship to other Alzheimer biomarkers are still unknown.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Gordon, B. A., Friedrichsen, K., Brier, M., Blazey, T., Su, Y., Christensen, J., et al. (2016). The relationship between cerebrospinal fluid markers of Alzheimer pathology and positron emission tomography tau imaging. Brain : a journal of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/aww139
Vancouver
Gordon BA, Friedrichsen K, Brier M, Blazey T, Su Y, Christensen J, et al. The relationship between cerebrospinal fluid markers of Alzheimer pathology and positron emission tomography tau imaging. Brain : a journal of neurology. 2016. doi:10.1093/brain/aww139. PMID: 27286736.
BibTeX
@article{gordon2016-27286736,
author = {Gordon, B. A. and Friedrichsen, K. and Brier, M. and Blazey, T. and Su, Y. and Christensen, J. and Aldea, P. and McConathy, J. and others},
title = {{The relationship between cerebrospinal fluid markers of Alzheimer pathology and positron emission tomography tau imaging}},
journal = {Brain : a journal of neurology},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1093/brain/aww139},
pmid = {27286736},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/aww139}
}
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Key findings
- Investigations into these pathologies have been restricted to cerebrospinal fluid assays, and positron emission tomography tracers that can image amyloid-β plaques.
- Tau tracers have recently been introduced into the field, although the utility of the tracer and its relationship to other Alzheimer biomarkers are still unknown.
- Here we examined tau deposition in 41 cognitively normal and 11 cognitively impaired older adults using the radioactive tau ligand (18)F-AV-1451 (previously known as T807) who also underwent a lumbar puncture to assess cerebrospinal fluid levels of total tau (t-tau), phosphorylated tau181 (p-tau181) and amyloid-β42 Voxel-wise statistical analyses examined spatial patterns of tau deposition associated with cognitive impairment.
- We then related the amount of tau tracer uptake to levels of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers.
Why it matters
This study examined tau deposition with a PET tracer in 41 cognitively normal and 11 cognitively impaired older adults and related it to cerebrospinal fluid markers of Alzheimer pathology. It is a small imaging study about measuring pathology, not about treating, curing, or preventing the disease.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Blood tests & biomarkers →
Study details
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, 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 (Brain : a journal of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Brain: journal h-index 503 (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 | 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 183 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 15.2 citations a year over 12 year(s) since 2016 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 21.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 27 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 26 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Tammie L.S. Benzinger: h-index 98 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Washington University in St. Louis: institution h-index 1,962 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 27286736) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
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