Tau positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is used in research, but its relation to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tau and other Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related clinical measures is unclear in mild cognitive impairment with AD biomarkers (MCI-AD).
Objective:
To determine associations between 18F-flortaucipir PET and CSF AD biomarkers, cognitive functioning, and neuroimaging measures in MCI-AD.
Methods:
In 29 participants 50 years or older with MCI-AD, 18F-flortaucipir PET, CSF total tau (T-tau), phosphorylated tau181p (P-tau), amyloid-β (Aβ), structural MRI, and neuropsychological testing were collected as baseline assessments of an ongoing clinical trial. 11C-Pittsburgh compound B PET was simultaneously conducted in 20 participants. Associations between 18F-flortaucipir PET and these measures were assessed by multiple linear regression adjusted for potential confounders and using global, lobar, and voxel-wise standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr).
Results:
Whole brain 18F-flortaucipir SUVr was significantly associated with CSF T-tau (r = 0.68, p < 0.001) and P-tau (r = 0.42, p = 0.04) after adjusting for age, sex, race, and education, with strongest associations in the temporal region (T-tau: r = 0.69, p < 0.001; P-tau: r = 0.49, p = 0.02). Voxel-wise analysis confirmed these regional associations. 18F-flortaucipir PET was also associated with CSF Aβ (r = –0.45, p = 0.03), episodic memory (r = –0.61, p = 0.001), visuospatial working memory (r = –0.46, p = 0.02), and brain cortical thickness (r = –0.44, p = 0.03) but not hippocampal volume. In the amyloid PET subset, although 11C-PiB PET associated strongly with 18F-flortaucipir (r = 0.79, p≤0.001), associations were stronger between 11C-PiB and key outcomes, compared to 18F-flortaucipir.
Conclusion:
18F-flortaucipir PET is moderately associated with CSF AD biomarkers and other AD-related phenotypes. The associations in this MCI-AD sample are stronger than previously described in other populations.
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