Advanced tau imaging improves early Alzheimer’s disease detection accuracy

A new brain imaging test can detect a key hallmark of Alzheimer's disease before symptoms appear and earlier than the method currently used in clinical practice in the United States and Europe, report University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers today in The Lancet.

The study team compared the ability of two 'tracers' – compounds that attach to proteins and light up in brain scans – to detect Alzheimer's-associated tangles of tau protein. Results suggest that the choice of tau tracers used for non-invasive PET scan brain imaging in Alzheimer's diagnostics can change who tests positive and influence disease detection and treatment eligibility.

Tau is the biology most closely tied to symptoms and future decline. If we can detect tau earlier and stage it more precisely, we can make better decisions about who is truly on an Alzheimer's trajectory, which matters for clinical trials now and could shape clinical decision-making as new therapies emerge."

Tharick Pascoal, M.D., Ph.D., corresponding author, associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at Pitt and behavioral neurologist at UPMC