The creation of long-term memories requires a continual supply of myelin provided by newly formed oligodendrocytes. Alas, the generation of fresh oligodendrocytes diminishes with age, along with memory.
At the HAI 2020 conference, the tracers PI-2620 and APN-1607 appeared to bind frontotemporal dementia tau. MK-6240 looked highly sensitive. And JNJ-067 and SNFT-1 are two new kids in town.
Amyloid and tau PET are helping scientists pinpoint the underlying cause of specific AD symptoms. Perhaps imaging of certain brain regions will help predict an individual’s progression.
Tau2020: Meeting for Tauopathies Debuts Genetic Variants Behold the First Human α-Synuclein CryoEM Fibril Structure New at Tau2020: PET Detects First Traces of Tangles in Rhinal Cortex Primary Tauopathies Get New PET Ligands Tau Receptor Identified on Cel
Not sure where that is? You are not alone. It is a tiny spot deep behind the nose, newly defined by the PET signal of early neurofibrillary tangle deposition. It also prompted a tau-staging scheme.
Autopsy data confirm that current tau PET tracers are unsuitable for some primary tauopathies. CryoEM structures help researchers find new ligands for tau and α-synuclein.
From caregivers going it alone to understaffed nursing homes on lockdown, people with neurodegenerative disease and their caregivers are feeling enormous strain from the novel coronavirus. They are adapting to the new normal with technology.
Two papers report that phosphorylated tau in the blood distinguishes people with AD from healthy controls and from people with frontotemporal and vascular dementias.