Imaging as a Strategy for Premortem Diagnosis and Staging of Tauopathies

Title: Imaging as a Strategy for Premortem Diagnosis and Staging of Tauopathies

Volume: 7 Issue: 3

Author(s): S. Kim, J.R. Jensen, K. Cisek, K.E. Funk, S. Naphade, K. Schafer and J. Kuret

Affiliation:

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, tau, neurofibrillary tangle, paired helical filaments

Abstract: Alzheimers disease is diagnosed by postmortem detection of pathological lesions that accumulate in specific brain regions. Although the presence of both β-amyloid plaques and tau-bearing neurofibrillary lesions defines Alzheimers disease, the distribution of neurofibrillary lesions alone correlates strongly with neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. A whole-brain imaging test capable of detecting these lesions in premortem cases could have great potential for staging and differentially diagnosing Alzheimers disease. Here we discuss the challenges in developing a whole-brain imaging approach for detection of this intracellular target.

Cite this article as:

Kim S., Jensen J.R., Cisek K., Funk K.E., Naphade S., Schafer K. and Kuret J., Imaging as a Strategy for Premortem Diagnosis and Staging of Tauopathies, Current Alzheimer Research 2010; 7(3) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/156720510791050894