Open Access CRIS of the University of Bern
Microglial dynamics associate with the spatial pattern of tau deposition in early Alzheimer's disease
By Marco Öchsner, Matthias Brendel, Nicolai Franzmeier and 22 others.
Abstract
Background
Neuroinflammation is implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis, yet how changes in TSPO PET signal are associated with tau deposition, and how brain network architecture shapes this relationship remain poorly understood.
Methods
We conducted a prospective, multimodal neuroimaging study in 56 participants: 35 amyloid-positive individuals across the AD spectrum (ADS) and 21 amyloid-negative healthy controls (HC). Amyloid status was classified primarily by CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 and, when eligible CSF was unavailable, by baseline amyloid PET. Participants underwent TSPO PET using [18 F]GE-180 and resting-state fMRI at baseline. A longitudinal subgroup additionally underwent follow-up tau PET using [18 F]PI-2620 (n = 24) and repeat TSPO PET (n = 18) approximately 18 months later.