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Using CA1 rather than the whole hippocampus to capture tau-PET Braak stage II
Étienne Aumont, Lydia Trudel, Brandon J. Hall, Tevy Chan, Seyyed Ali Hosseini, Arthur C. Macedo, Joseph Therriault, Jaime Fernández Arias et al.. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, 2026-07-14
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Spatial analyses localised early hippocampal tau-PET signal predominantly to the anterior CA1. Whole-hippocampus measures were more frequently influenced by off-target signal consistent with choroid plexus contamination. Participants classified as CA1-based Braak stage II showed higher amyloid-PET burden, more consistent tau accumulation in the Braak stage III region, and more stable longitudinal progression. CA1-based staging yielded fewer discordant classifications and fewer stage regressions at follow-up. CA1-specific tau-PET quantification improves biological plausibility and longitudinal consistency of Braak stage II classification by targeting the hippocampal subfield most vulnerable to early tau pathology and mitigating off-target contamination. CA1-based Braak stage II participants showed greater coherence with the biological framework of AD than those staged using the whole hippocampus. Applicable to available PET resolution, this approach may enhance characterisation of early AD and support participant selection in trials targeting preclinical tau accumulation.
Key findings
- Spatial analyses localised early hippocampal tau-PET signal predominantly to the anterior CA1.
- Whole-hippocampus measures were more frequently influenced by off-target signal consistent with choroid plexus contamination.
- Participants classified as CA1-based Braak stage II showed higher amyloid-PET burden, more consistent tau accumulation in the Braak stage III region, and more stable longitudinal progression.
- CA1-based staging yielded fewer discordant classifications and fewer stage regressions at follow-up.
- CA1-specific tau-PET quantification improves biological plausibility and longitudinal consistency of Braak stage II classification by targeting the hippocampal subfield most vulnerable to early tau pathology and mitigating off-target contamination.
Why it matters
Measuring tau-PET in the CA1 subfield rather than the whole hippocampus gave more biologically consistent Braak stage II classifications and fewer stage regressions at follow-up. The authors suggest this may help characterize early AD and support participant selection in trials, but it is not itself a treatment or cure.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging: journal h-index 224 (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 | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 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 | 0 / 7 | Cited 0 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.0 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026 |
| Impact for its field and year | 0 / 6 | Cited 0.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Pedro Rosa‐Neto: h-index 89 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, Berkeley: institution h-index 2,012 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 42448890) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1007/s00259-026-08074-z
- PubMed: 42448890
- Original source →
- Free full text: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging →
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
Aumont, É., Trudel, L., Hall, B. J., Chan, T., Hosseini, S. A., Macedo, A. C., et al. (2026). Using CA1 rather than the whole hippocampus to capture tau-PET Braak stage II. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-026-08074-z
Vancouver
Aumont É, Trudel L, Hall BJ, Chan T, Hosseini SA, Macedo AC, et al. Using CA1 rather than the whole hippocampus to capture tau-PET Braak stage II. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. 2026. doi:10.1007/s00259-026-08074-z. PMID: 42448890.
BibTeX
@article{aumont2026-42448890,
author = {Aumont, Étienne and Trudel, Lydia and Hall, Brandon J. and Chan, Tevy and Hosseini, Seyyed Ali and Macedo, Arthur C. and Therriault, Joseph and Arias, Jaime Fernández and others},
title = {{Using CA1 rather than the whole hippocampus to capture tau-PET Braak stage II}},
journal = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1007/s00259-026-08074-z},
pmid = {42448890},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-026-08074-z}
}
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