Evaluating tau-PET deposition and laterality with cognition in the Wake Forest ADRC community-based cohort

Q: What was the study’s primary focus regarding tau-PET?

The study evaluated how tau-PET deposition patterns and tau-PET laterality relate to cognition within the Wake Forest ADRC community-based cohort.

Q: How were cognition and tau-PET measured in the study?

Participants completed annual cognitive assessments including UDSv3, MMSE, CDR, modified PACC5, NBI-MPIQ, and MINT, while tau-PET was quantified globally, regionally, and by BRAAK stage, with laterality indices derived from the same regions.

Q: Did tau-PET laterality differ by cognitive status or associate with cognition?

Tau-PET lateralization was detected in about 23% of participants using a lenient criterion, but it did not differ by cognitive status and was not associated with cognition.

Sep 30, 2026

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Background: Prior work indicates tau-PET deposition patterns strongly track cognitive deficits across general cognitive domains, and left-right lateralization relates differently to language versus behavioral impairment. Method: In the Wake Forest ADRC cohort (n = 250), cognitively normal, mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and unclassified participants underwent annual cognitive testing (UDSv3, MMSE, CDR, modified PACC5, NBI-MPIQ, MINT). Tau-PET (SUVr) was quantified globally, regionally, and by BRAAK stage; laterality indices were derived from the same regions. General linear models evaluated associations with cognitive status and UDSv3 performance. Result: Tau-PET deposition varied by cognitive status and related to worse cognition across assessments; laterality was present in ~23% but showed no cognitive association.

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DOI: 10. 1002/alz70856_105718 BIOMARKERS POSTER PRESENTATION NEUROIMAGING Evaluating tau-PET deposition and laterality with cognition in the Wake Forest ADRC community-based cohort Melissa M. Rundle1 Timothy M. Hughes2 Da Ma2 Kathryn H Alphin2 Trey R. Bateman2 KiranK. Solingapuram Sai 1 Suzanne Craft 1 Marc D. Rudolph2 1Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA 2Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA Correspondence Melissa M. Rundle, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. [Email:](Email: mrundle@wakehealth.edu)[ mrundle@wakehealth.edu](Email: mrundle@wakehealth.edu) Abstract Background: Prior work suggests tau-PET deposition patterns tracks strongly with cognitive deficits across general cognitive domains. Moreover, the degree to which tauPET deposition is left or right lateralized is associated with language versus behavioral impairment respectively. Method: Participants with tau-PET data (n = 250; cognitively normal participants [CU; n = 143]; individuals with a consensus diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment [MCI; n = 79], dementia [DEM; n = 27], or otherwise not classified [OTHER; n = 1] enrolled in the Wake Forest ADRC(Table1). Participants completed an annual battery of cognitive assessments including the Uniform Data Set (UDSv3, NACC), MMSE, CDR, a modified PACC5, NBI-MPIQ, and MINT. Tau-PET (SUVr) was quantified globally, regionally (entorhinal cortex, meta-temporal), and according to BRAAK stage. Tau-PET laterality indices were generated from these same regions. General linear models tested for associations between tau-PET deposition or tau-PET laterality with cognitive status and performance on UDSv3 assessments. Result: Overall, Tau-PET deposition differed by cognitive status (CU < MCI < DEM; all p <.05) and was associated with poorer cognition across assessments evaluated (all p <.05; Table 1, Figures 1and 2). Associations were driven by tau-PET+ participants irrespective of the threshold imposed or ROI used. Tau-PET lateralization was detected in ∼23% of participants globally using a lenient criteria (e.g. SD3 1; LEFT: 15%; RIGHT: 8%; Table 1), but did not differ by cognitive status (p = . 17) and was not associated with cognition. Conclusion: Overall, increased Tau-PET was associated with poorer cognition and differed by cognitive status as expected. Due to the small number of participants with detectable levels of laterality, we did not find any association between laterality and cognition. In future work we plan to quantity tau pet patterns at the voxel level 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):e105718. [https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70856_105718](https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70856_105718) wi[leyonlinelibrary.com/journal/alz](leyonlinelibrary.com/journal/alz) 1of4 BIOMARKERS and utilize a machine-learning based staging scheme to improve characterization of AD progression and subtypes (e.g., SusTain), as well as take advantage of additional open-source datasets with tau data. BIOMARKERS BIOMARKERS

FAQs

What was the study’s primary focus regarding tau-PET?

The study evaluated how tau-PET deposition patterns and tau-PET laterality relate to cognition within the Wake Forest ADRC community-based cohort.

How were cognition and tau-PET measured in the study?

Participants completed annual cognitive assessments including UDSv3, MMSE, CDR, modified PACC5, NBI-MPIQ, and MINT, while tau-PET was quantified globally, regionally, and by BRAAK stage, with laterality indices derived from the same regions.

Did tau-PET laterality differ by cognitive status or associate with cognition?

Tau-PET lateralization was detected in about 23% of participants using a lenient criterion, but it did not differ by cognitive status and was not associated with cognition.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Putri