Published on: Sep 17, 2025
An international research team led by Lund University and the Amsterdam University Medical Center has conducted the world’s largest study of tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease, analyzing PET scans from over 12,000 participants across 42 cohorts in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia. The findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, shed new light on how genetics, gender, and age influence the progression of the disease.
Tau and beta-amyloid proteins, both naturally present in the brain, play a central role in Alzheimer’s. Beta-amyloid plaques disrupt cell-to-cell communication, while tau tangles inside neurons destroy transport systems and ultimately lead to cell death—triggering neurodegeneration and cognitive decline.
The study included individuals with an average age of 70: 7,400 symptom-free participants, 2,200 with mild cognitive impairment, and 1,500 diagnosed with dementia. PET imaging enabled researchers to measure amyloid and tau deposits, offering unprecedented insights into how these pathologies differ across populations.
Key findings confirm that APOE ε4, the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s, drives earlier accumulation of amyloid and tau—often decades before symptoms appear. This highlights the need for early intervention with disease-modifying treatments in genetically at-risk individuals.
Gender also emerged as a critical factor: women were found to have higher levels of abnormal tau compared to men of the same age, supporting previous evidence that women face greater Alzheimer’s risk, partly due to hormonal and immune system differences.
Such an extensive study of Alzheimer’s disease has never been done before, both in participant numbers and global reach, said Rik Ossenkoppele, researcher at Lund University and Amsterdam UMC. These results provide highly reliable prevalence estimates and reinforce known risk factors like APOE ε4 and gender.
Back to News
Empowering Innovation Through Global Conferences and Events.
© 2025 SciInov. All Rights Reserved.