1. Amyloid is associated with accelerated atrophy in cognitively unimpaired individuals.
- Author
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Stephenson HG, Betthauser TJ, Langhough R, Jonaitis E, Du L, Van Hulle C, Kollmorgen G, Quijano-Rubio C, Chin NA, Okonkwo OC, Carlsson CM, Asthana S, Johnson SC, Blennow K, Zetterberg H, and Bendlin BB
- Abstract
Introduction: This study examined the association of longitudinal atrophy with baseline cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid beta (Aβ, A) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau, T) biomarkers (Aβ42/40, p-tau181) in 406 cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals (6.670 years of follow-up on average, up to 13 imaging visits) to assess whether A+ is associated with Alzheimer's disease-like atrophy and whether this depends on p-tau181 levels., Methods: An A-T- CU group free from abnormal neurodegeneration (N) was identified using a robust normative approach and used to model normal age-related atrophy via z -scoring. Linear mixed-effects models tested differences in longitudinal atrophy between A+ and A-T-N- individuals and between A/T subgroups., Results: A+ was associated with worse atrophy within and beyond the medial temporal lobe, even at low levels of p-tau181., Discussion: Neurodegeneration likely begins soon after the onset of abnormal Aβ pathology. Clinical intervention at the earliest signs of Aβ pathology may be needed to mitigate further neurodegeneration., Highlights: An A-T-N- control group was identified using a robust normative approachA+ was associated with accelerated atrophy in cognitively unimpaired individualsAtrophy was observed even at low p-tau181 levels., Competing Interests: G.K. is a full‐time employee of Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Penzberg, Germany. C.Q‐R. is a full‐time employee of Roche Diagnostics International Ltd, Rotkreuz, Switzerland. S.C.J. has served as an advisor to Enigma, Roche Diagnostics, Merck, and ALZPath. He has also received research funding from Cerveau Technologies for unrelated work. K.B. has served as a consultant and on advisory boards for Abbvie, AC Immune, ALZPath, AriBio, BioArctic, Biogen, Eisai, Lilly, Moleac Pte. Ltd, Neurimmune, Novartis, Ono Pharma, Prothena, Roche Diagnostics, and Siemens Healthineers; has served on data monitoring committees for Julius Clinical and Novartis; has given lectures, produced educational materials, and participated in educational programs for AC Immune, Biogen, Celdara Medical, Eisai, and Roche Diagnostics; and is a co‐founder of Brain Biomarker Solutions in Gothenburg AB (BBS), which is a part of the GU Ventures Incubator Program, outside the work presented in this article. H.Z. has served on scientific advisory boards and/or as a consultant for Abbvie, Acumen, Alector, Alzinova, ALZPath, Amylyx, Annexon, Apellis, Artery Therapeutics, AZTherapies, Cognito Therapeutics, CogRx, Denali, Eisai, Merry Life, Nervgen, Novo Nordisk, Optoceutics, Passage Bio, Pinteon Therapeutics, Prothena, Red Abbey Labs, reMYND, Roche, Samumed, Siemens Healthineers, Triplet Therapeutics, and Wave; has given lectures in symposia sponsored by Alzecure, Biogen, Cellectricon, Fujirebio, Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Roche; and is a co‐founder of Brain Biomarker Solutions in Gothenburg AB (BBS), which is a part of the GU Ventures Incubator Program. B.B.B. has consulted for New Amsterdam Pharma, Cognito Therapeutics, and Merry Life Biomedical, and is the co‐founder of Cognovance, LLC. None of these competing interests are related to the content of the manuscript. No other disclosures were reported. Author disclosures are available in the Supporting Information., (© 2025 The Author(s). Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring published by Wiley Periodicals, LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)
- Published
- 2025
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