Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41485133›Full record

ArticleAlzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association2026

Spatial patterns of tau accumulation across the Alzheimer's disease spectrum.

Corrina S Fonseca, Yishu Chao, Renaud La Joie, Gil D Rabinovici, William J Jagust, Theresa M Harrison, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Spatial patterns of tau accumulation across the Alzheimer's disease spectrum.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Corrina S FonsecaDepartment of Neuroscience, University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4156-1037
Yishu ChaoDepartment of Neuroscience, University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley, California, USA.
Renaud La JoieDepartment of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, California, USA.
Gil D RabinoviciDepartment of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, California, USA.
William J JagustDepartment of Neuroscience, University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley, California, USA.
Theresa M HarrisonDepartment of Neuroscience, University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley, California, USA.
Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Funding

Vascular factors, physical activity, and inflammation as modulators of neurodegenerative and cognitive trajectories (Project 2)P01AG036694 · NIA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI Hyun-Sik Yang · 2010 to 2026
$50.2M
Research Education ComponentP30AG062422 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI Katherine P Rankin · 2019 to 2026
$36.9M
Neural and Biochemical Mechanisms of Cognitive AgingR01AG034570 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIF-LAWRENC BERKELEY LAB · PI William J. Jagust · 2009 to 2026
$12.0M
Mechanisms of Alzheimer's Disease Progression in the Aging BrainR01AG062542 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIF-LAWRENC BERKELEY LAB · PI JAGUST, WILLIAM J. · 2019 to 2023
$4.2M
Early Age-of-Onset AD: Clinical Heterogeneity and Network DegenerationR01AG045611 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI RABINOVICI, GIL DAN · 2014 to 2018
$3.1M
Linking basal forebrain and entorhinal cortex vulnerability to preclinical Alzheimer's diseaseK01AG078443 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI Theresa M. Harrison · 2022 to 2026
$656k
Network drivers of regional vulnerability to early Alzheimer's disease pathologyF31AG087648 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI Corrina Fonseca · 2024 to 2026
$142k
NIA NIH HHS F31 AG087648NIA NIH HHS K01 AG078443NIA NIH HHS P01 AG036694NIA NIH HHS P30 AG062422NIA NIH HHS R01 AG034570NIA NIH HHS R01 AG045611NIA NIH HHS R01 AG062542
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe spatial progression of longitudinal tau pathology has been inferred using cross-sectional data, but longitudinal voxel-wise analyses allow these patterns to be established without inference.

methodsWe pooled 1426 flortaucipir (FTP) positron emission tomography (PET) scans from 583 participants across the aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) spectrum from four studies. Using longitudinal tau-PET slope maps, we examined tau accumulation by clinical group and its associations with participant characteristics, baseline beta-amyloid (Aβ), and tau.

resultsTau accumulation was limited to temporoparietal cortices in unimpaired participants but widespread in patients. Baseline Aβ, entorhinal, and inferior temporal tau predicted progressively more severe tau accumulation patterns. Age, sex, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 had modest moderating effects. Aβ and early tau interactions showed synergistic effects. Greater tau accumulation was linked to worse follow-up cognition than baseline. DISCUSSION: While Aβ influences early tau progression, baseline tau drives later progression. These results may guide future trials targeting tau accumulation at different disease stages. HIGHLIGHTS: Faster tau spread from temporal to frontal lobes was linked to clinical impairment. Global beta-amyloid (Aβ), entorhinal, and inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) tau predicted progressively worse tau accumulation. Age, sex, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) had minimal effects on tau accumulation. Aβ and early tau burden interact synergistically to drive tau accumulation. More severe tau accumulation was linked to worse cognition at follow-up than baseline.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseBraintau ProteinsAgedAged, 80 and overAmyloid beta-PeptidesCarbolinesDisease ProgressionFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedPositron-Emission Tomography7-(6-fluoropyridin-3-yl)-5H-pyrido(4,3-b)indoleAmyloid beta-PeptidesCarbolinestau Proteinsaginglongitudinal tau‐PETtau accumulationvoxel‐wise analyses

Identifiers

PMID41485133
PMCPMC12765406

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.