Spatial association between distributed β-amyloid and tau varies with cognition

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Biomarker Discovery
• Alzheimer's Disease Research

Background:

• Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression involves beta-amyloid and tau pathology.
• Previous PET studies often examined linear relationships between beta-amyloid and tau.
• Complex, nonlinear associations may offer deeper insights into early AD.

Approach:

• Introduced Canonical Distance Correlation Analysis (CDCA) for spatial association patterns.
• Utilized [18F]flortaucipir PET (tau) and [18F]florbetapir PET (beta-amyloid) data from ADNI.
• Generated distinctive cross-correlation structures between beta-amyloid and tau.

Key Points:

• CDCA identified maximal distance-correlation between beta-amyloid and tau in cognitively normal and MCI subjects.
• Distinctive spatial pattern: widespread cortical beta-amyloid with localized entorhinal tau.
• This association pattern varied significantly with cognitive status.

Conclusions:

• CDCA-derived scores capture complex spatial dependencies between beta-amyloid and tau.
• These scores may be more sensitive to cognitive changes than standard SUVR measures.
• CDCA holds potential for improved patient stratification in AD clinical trials.