Smith R, Wibom M, Pawlik D, Englund E, Hansson O.
Correlation of In Vivo [18F]Flortaucipir With Postmortem Alzheimer Disease Tau Pathology.
JAMA Neurol. 2018 Dec 3;
PubMed.
This is a brilliant study that shows us just how well Flortaucipir PET matches neuropathologically mapped tau. The correlations were strong as tested in a wide variety brain regions. The study clearly adds to our knowledge of Flortaucipir PET performance.
In my mind, the question of somal versus neuritic tau association with Flortaucipir PET is not completely answered. It does not appear that somal-predominant or neuritic-predominant tau regions were compared directly to in vivo flortaucipir PET signal for the same regions … and not that that is possible with in vivo flortaucipir PET. There could easily be cross contamination on the in vivo flortaucipir PET signal between such regions, as it would be in the mm and submillimeter range—let alone getting acceptable image registration with the autopsy tissue at this scale. This is a monumental challenge that runs up against our limitations of physics.
Despite this limitation, the correlation with flortaucipir PET overall is still a great story.
Comments
Mayo Clinic
This is a brilliant study that shows us just how well Flortaucipir PET matches neuropathologically mapped tau. The correlations were strong as tested in a wide variety brain regions. The study clearly adds to our knowledge of Flortaucipir PET performance.
In my mind, the question of somal versus neuritic tau association with Flortaucipir PET is not completely answered. It does not appear that somal-predominant or neuritic-predominant tau regions were compared directly to in vivo flortaucipir PET signal for the same regions … and not that that is possible with in vivo flortaucipir PET. There could easily be cross contamination on the in vivo flortaucipir PET signal between such regions, as it would be in the mm and submillimeter range—let alone getting acceptable image registration with the autopsy tissue at this scale. This is a monumental challenge that runs up against our limitations of physics.
Despite this limitation, the correlation with flortaucipir PET overall is still a great story.
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