NEW YORK: It’s well-established that the accumulation of two types of naturally occurring proteins in the brain—amyloid beta and tau—are central factors that contribute to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Up until this point, scientists have mainly focused their research on amyloid beta proteins, because there is no effective way to image tau. Fortunately, research on amyloids has provided plenty of important insights and led to some treatments that slow the disease’s progression.
However, a new study suggests that scientists should pay closer attention to the role of tau proteins in Alzheimer’s, especially because they may be a more accurate predictor of cognitive decline.
To conduct the study, researchers used a new imaging agent, known as T806, that has been found to cling to tau proteins. While T806 isn’t currently used in clinical settings, it is approved for medical research.