Aβ-dependent trajectories of Braak stages for MK6240 and Flortaucipir tau PET

Bruna Bellaver; Guilherme Povala; Pamela C.L. Ferreira; Guilherme Bauer-Negrini; Firoza Z Lussier; Livia Amaral; Andreia Rocha; Joseph C. Masdeu; Dana L Tudorascu; Thomas K Karikari; David N. Soleimani-Meigooni; Juan Fortea; Val J Lowe; Hwamee Oh; Belen Pascual; Brian A. Gordon; Pedro Rosa-Neto; Suzanne L. Baker; Tharick A Pascoal

doi:10.1002/alz70856_107040

Aβ-dependent trajectories of Braak stages for MK6240 and Flortaucipir tau PET

Bruna Bellaver, Guilherme Povala, Pamela C.L. Ferreira, Guilherme Bauer-Negrini, Firoza Z Lussier, Livia Amaral, Andreia Rocha, Joseph C. Masdeu, Dana L Tudorascu, Thomas K Karikari, David N. Soleimani-Meigooni, Juan Fortea, Val J Lowe, Hwamee Oh, Belen Pascual, Brian A. Gordon, Pedro Rosa-Neto, Suzanne L. Baker, Tharick A Pascoal

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Abstract Background Tau accumulation in the brain is postulated to follow a hierarchical pattern, known as Braak staging, originally defined in postmortem brains. PET-based Braak stages have since been proposed, however, tau PET tracers exhibit distinct binding characteristics that might influence the detectable trajectories of tau accumulation and its relationship with other biomarkers across the AD continuum. In a head-to-head study, we investigated the emergence of tau positivity in each Braak region, along with plasma p-tau217 and GFAP, as a function of A? PET deposition. Method We evaluated 352 individuals from the HEAD study (205 cognitively unimpaired and 147 cognitively impaired) with head-to-head A? PET, MK6240 and Flortaucipir tau PET, and plasma p-tau217 (ALZpath) and GFAP (Quanterix) measures. Tau PET Braak regions, plasma p-tau217 and GFAP trajectories were modeled as functions of A? burden (Centiloid scale) using the Lowess method. Biomarkers were z-scored anchored on young individuals (n = 19,

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	e107040
Journal	Alzheimer's and Dementia
Volume	21
Issue number	S2
Early online date	Dec 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70856_107040
State	Published - Jan 10 2026

Access to Document

10.1002/alz70856_107040

Cite this

Bellaver, B., Povala, G., Ferreira, P. C. L., Bauer-Negrini, G., Lussier, F. Z., Amaral, L., Rocha, A., Masdeu, J. C., Tudorascu, D. L., Karikari, T. K., Soleimani-Meigooni, D. N., Fortea, J., Lowe, V. J., Oh, H., Pascual, B., Gordon, B. A., Rosa-Neto, P., Baker, S. L., & Pascoal, T. A. (2026). Aβ-dependent trajectories of Braak stages for MK6240 and Flortaucipir tau PET. Alzheimer's and Dementia, 21(S2), e107040. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70856_107040

Bellaver, B, Povala, G, Ferreira, PCL, Bauer-Negrini, G, Lussier, FZ, Amaral, L, Rocha, A, Masdeu, JC, Tudorascu, DL, Karikari, TK, Soleimani-Meigooni, DN, Fortea, J, Lowe, VJ, Oh, H, Pascual, B, Gordon, BA, Rosa-Neto, P, Baker, SL & Pascoal, TA 2026, 'Aβ-dependent trajectories of Braak stages for MK6240 and Flortaucipir tau PET', Alzheimer's and Dementia, vol. 21, no. S2, pp. e107040. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70856_107040

@article{7eb9c2eb2c184a0c9b67141a6d9aeb66,

title = "Aβ-dependent trajectories of Braak stages for MK6240 and Flortaucipir tau PET",

abstract = "Abstract Background Tau accumulation in the brain is postulated to follow a hierarchical pattern, known as Braak staging, originally defined in postmortem brains. PET-based Braak stages have since been proposed, however, tau PET tracers exhibit distinct binding characteristics that might influence the detectable trajectories of tau accumulation and its relationship with other biomarkers across the AD continuum. In a head-to-head study, we investigated the emergence of tau positivity in each Braak region, along with plasma p-tau217 and GFAP, as a function of A? PET deposition. Method We evaluated 352 individuals from the HEAD study (205 cognitively unimpaired and 147 cognitively impaired) with head-to-head A? PET, MK6240 and Flortaucipir tau PET, and plasma p-tau217 (ALZpath) and GFAP (Quanterix) measures. Tau PET Braak regions, plasma p-tau217 and GFAP trajectories were modeled as functions of A? burden (Centiloid scale) using the Lowess method. Biomarkers were z-scored anchored on young individuals (n = 19, ",

author = "Bruna Bellaver and Guilherme Povala and Ferreira, \{Pamela C.L.\} and Guilherme Bauer-Negrini and Lussier, \{Firoza Z\} and Livia Amaral and Andreia Rocha and Masdeu, \{Joseph C.\} and Tudorascu, \{Dana L\} and Karikari, \{Thomas K\} and Soleimani-Meigooni, \{David N.\} and Juan Fortea and Lowe, \{Val J\} and Hwamee Oh and Belen Pascual and Gordon, \{Brian A.\} and Pedro Rosa-Neto and Baker, \{Suzanne L.\} and Pascoal, \{Tharick A\}",

year = "2026",

month = jan,

day = "10",

doi = "10.1002/alz70856\_107040",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "21",

pages = "e107040",

journal = "Alzheimer's and Dementia",

issn = "1552-5260",

publisher = "Wiley",

number = "S2",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Aβ-dependent trajectories of Braak stages for MK6240 and Flortaucipir tau PET

AU - Bellaver, Bruna

AU - Povala, Guilherme

AU - Ferreira, Pamela C.L.

AU - Bauer-Negrini, Guilherme

AU - Lussier, Firoza Z

AU - Amaral, Livia

AU - Rocha, Andreia

AU - Masdeu, Joseph C.

AU - Tudorascu, Dana L

AU - Karikari, Thomas K

AU - Soleimani-Meigooni, David N.

AU - Fortea, Juan

AU - Lowe, Val J

AU - Oh, Hwamee

AU - Pascual, Belen

AU - Gordon, Brian A.

AU - Rosa-Neto, Pedro

AU - Baker, Suzanne L.

AU - Pascoal, Tharick A

PY - 2026/1/10

Y1 - 2026/1/10

N2 - Abstract Background Tau accumulation in the brain is postulated to follow a hierarchical pattern, known as Braak staging, originally defined in postmortem brains. PET-based Braak stages have since been proposed, however, tau PET tracers exhibit distinct binding characteristics that might influence the detectable trajectories of tau accumulation and its relationship with other biomarkers across the AD continuum. In a head-to-head study, we investigated the emergence of tau positivity in each Braak region, along with plasma p-tau217 and GFAP, as a function of A? PET deposition. Method We evaluated 352 individuals from the HEAD study (205 cognitively unimpaired and 147 cognitively impaired) with head-to-head A? PET, MK6240 and Flortaucipir tau PET, and plasma p-tau217 (ALZpath) and GFAP (Quanterix) measures. Tau PET Braak regions, plasma p-tau217 and GFAP trajectories were modeled as functions of A? burden (Centiloid scale) using the Lowess method. Biomarkers were z-scored anchored on young individuals (n = 19,

AB - Abstract Background Tau accumulation in the brain is postulated to follow a hierarchical pattern, known as Braak staging, originally defined in postmortem brains. PET-based Braak stages have since been proposed, however, tau PET tracers exhibit distinct binding characteristics that might influence the detectable trajectories of tau accumulation and its relationship with other biomarkers across the AD continuum. In a head-to-head study, we investigated the emergence of tau positivity in each Braak region, along with plasma p-tau217 and GFAP, as a function of A? PET deposition. Method We evaluated 352 individuals from the HEAD study (205 cognitively unimpaired and 147 cognitively impaired) with head-to-head A? PET, MK6240 and Flortaucipir tau PET, and plasma p-tau217 (ALZpath) and GFAP (Quanterix) measures. Tau PET Braak regions, plasma p-tau217 and GFAP trajectories were modeled as functions of A? burden (Centiloid scale) using the Lowess method. Biomarkers were z-scored anchored on young individuals (n = 19,

U2 - 10.1002/alz70856_107040

DO - 10.1002/alz70856_107040

M3 - Article

SN - 1552-5260

VL - 21

SP - e107040

JO - Alzheimer's and Dementia

JF - Alzheimer's and Dementia

IS - S2

ER -

Aβ-dependent trajectories of Braak stages for MK6240 and Flortaucipir tau PET

Abstract

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this