A separate group of investigators examined the relationship between tau PET signal and cognitive function, as measured by the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), in 10 patients. They found a clear relationship between increasing tau PET signal and decreasing MMSE score, which reinforces the notion that tau pathology correlates with clinical progression, said Dr. Hutton. A new study is examining the correlation between tau PET signal in living patients and tau pathology at autopsy.
Other researchers have developed similar tau PET tracers during the past few years. These “exciting developments” could provide a biomarker to track the progression of tau pathology and support clinical translation, said Dr. Hutton. “We now have a pharmacodynamic measure that eventually will allow us to set the dose during the clinical development of a future tau therapeutic,” he concluded.
—Erik Greb
Senior Associate Editor