Effects of AD modifiable risk factors to tau-PET tracer uptake and its association with cognition in early Braak stages - Poster presentation

Sep 30, 2026

Background: Many risk factors contribute to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), yet the impact of dementia risk factors on tau-PET tracer uptake remains unclear. This study examines how dementia risk factors and comorbidities influence 18F-Flortaucipir (FTP) and 18F-MK6240 (MK) tau-PET uptake, and how these factors alter the association between tau-PET signal and cognition. Method: Data from 436 HEAD participants with Aβ-PET and clinical assessments were analyzed using regression models corrected for age, sex, diagnosis, and site. Result: In Aβ-negative individuals, higher BMI related to increased uptake for FTP and MK, while hearing loss related to increased MK uptake; in Aβ-positive individuals, BMI, hearing loss, and sleep disorders showed decreased uptake. Conclusion: Sleep disorders, hypertension, and high BMI independently related to tau-PET uptake with effects depending on Aβ pathology, also modifying tau-cognition associations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Method

Result

Conclusion

DOI: 10. 1002/alz70856_106398 BIOMARKERS POSTER PRESENTATION NEUROIMAGING Effects of AD modifiable risk factors to tau-PET tracer uptake and its association with cognitiion in early Braak stages MatheusScarpatto Rodrigues1 Bruna Bellaver 1 Guilherme Povala 1 Guilherme Bauer-Negrini 1 Firoza Z Lussier 1 Livia Amaral 1 Pamela C. L. Ferreira2 Markley Silva Oliveira Jr.1 Andreia Rocha 1 Pampa Saha 1 MarinaScop Madeiros 1 Carolina Soares 1 Emma Ruppert 1 Rayan Mroué 1 Joseph C. Masdeu3 Dana L Tudorascu 1 David N. Soleimani-Meigooni4 Juan Fortea5 Val J Lowe6 Hwamee Oh7 Belen Pascual8 Brian A. Gordon9 Pedro Rosa-Neto 10 Suzanne L. Baker 11 Tharick A Pascoal 1 1 University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA 2 Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil 3 Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA 4 University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA 5Sant Pau Memory Unit, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain 6 Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA 7 Brown University, Providence, RI, USA 8 Houston Methodist Neurological Institute, Houston, TX, USA 9Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA 10 McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Montreal, QC, Canada 11 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA Correspondence Matheus Scarpatto Rodrigues, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. [Email:](Email: msr104@pitt.edu)[ msr104@pitt.edu](Email: msr104@pitt.edu) Abstract Background: Many risk factors can contribute to the occurrence of Alzheimer‘s Disease (AD). However, little is known about the impact of dementia risk factors to the uptake of tau-PET tracers. Therefore, in this work we aim to investigate the influence of dementia risk factors and comorbidities on 18 F-Flortaucipir (FTP) and 18 F-MK6240 (MK)tau-PET tracers’ uptake. Additionally, we will assess how these factors impact the association of tau-PET and cognition. Method: We accessed 436 individuals across the aging and AD spectrum (251 amyloid negative and 185 amyloid positive) from the HEAD study, with available Aβ-PET, FTP, MK, and clinical assessments. Linear regression models corrected for age, sex, clinical diagnosis, and study site tested the association of factors with tau-PET tracers in the medial temporal lobe (MTL). A tau-PET × risk factor term was added to test the influence of risk factors to the association of tau with cognition. Result: In amyloid-β negative individuals, high BMI were positively associated with the uptake of both FTP and MK, whereas hearing loss were positively associated only with MK in the MTL (Figure 1A). In amyloid-β positive individuals, high body mass index (BMI), hearing loss and sleep disorders were negatively associated with the uptake of both tau-PET tracers in the MTL. On the other hand, hypertension showed negative association only with MK uptake (Figure 1B). Using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores as outcome, we observed that amyloid-β negative individuals with high BMI showed worse cognitive performance as a function of both MK and FTP This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2025 The Alzheimer’s Association. Alzheimer’s & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer’s Association. Alzheimer’s Dement. 2025;21(Suppl. 2):e106398. [https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70856_106398](https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70856_106398) wi[leyonlinelibrary.com/journal/alz](leyonlinelibrary.com/journal/alz) 1of3 BIOMARKERS in the MTL, whereas individuals with vision impairment and hearing loss showed worse cognitive performance as a function of MK only (Figure 2A). Amyloid-β positive individuals with hypercholesterolemia and hy

FAQs

What was the primary aim of the study?

To assess how dementia risk factors and comorbidities affect tau-PET tracer uptake (18F-Flortaucipir and 18F-MK6240) and how these factors influence the relationship between tau-PET and cognition.

How were participants selected and analyzed?

The study used 436 individuals from the HEAD study across the aging and AD spectrum, with Aβ-PET, tau-PET measures, and clinical assessments. Linear regression models corrected for age, sex, diagnosis, and study site.

Which risk factors were linked to tau-PET uptake differently by amyloid-β status?

In Aβ-negative individuals, high BMI was positively associated with uptake for both tracers and hearing loss with MK only; in Aβ-positive individuals, BMI, hearing loss, and sleep disorders were negatively associated with both tracers, while hypertension showed a negative association only with MK uptake.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Nguyễn Văn Học