The temporospatial evolution of neuritic plaque-related and independent tauopathies: Implications for dementia staging

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8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Neuritic plaque (NP) formation can be dated in vivo. This analysis attempts to 'date' the progression of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) using the spatial distribution of NP as a reference. Autopsy data from 471 participants in the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study (HAAS) were combined into latent factor measures of NFT and NP counts. The variance in 'early' and 'late' NP pathology was used to estimate the spatial distribution of 'early' and 'late' NFT formation. A third latent factor representing 'non-NP-related NFT' was also constructed. 'Early' NP and 'late' NP correlated significantly with objectively early and later cognitive performance, respectively. In contrast to our expectations, neocortical NFT correlated best with 'early' NP pathology, while NFT in allocortical structures correlated best with 'late' NP pathology. Therefore, the NP-related fraction of NFT appears to be co-localized spatially with NP. However, since the latter evolve corticofugally in time, this suggests that NP-related NFT do so as well. Corticotropic NFT formation must therefore be either unrelated to NP formation, a temporally distinct process, or both.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)541-549
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Alzheimer's Disease
Volume40
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014

Keywords

  • Alzheimer's disease
  • dementia
  • mild cognitive impairment
  • neuropathology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuroscience(all)
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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