SNMMI: What Tau PET Findings May Reveal About Modifiable Factors for Alzheimer’s Disease

Emerging tau positron emission tomography (PET) research suggests that modifications of body mass index (BMI), hypertension and educational level may have an impact in curtailing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), noted Merle Hoenig, Ph.D, in a recent interview at the Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) conference.

For the study, Dr. Hoenig and her colleagues reviewed tau volume maps from longitudinal ¹⁸F-AV-1451 PET scans in a cohort of 162 amyloid-positive study participants. The cohort included 55 people with mild cognitive impairment, 30 participants with AD and 77 people with no cognitive impairment, according to the study.

Dr. Hoenig said the research findings revealed that women and those with the e4 allele of the Apolipoprotein E gene (ApoE4), a key risk factor for AD, had greater tau speed (spatial progression) over time whereas modifiable factors, such as education, hypertension and BMI, affect tau level rise (local tau amplification).

“We believe that, in particular, genetics are more closely related to the spatial progression whereas those modifiable factors are more linked to the increase of tau pathology at certain regions,” noted Dr. Hoenig, a postdoctoral researcher at the Julich Research Center in Julich, Germany.

(Editor’s note: For additional research from the SNMMI conference, click here.)

Dr. Hoenig suggested that closer examination of tau speed as well as tau level rise may provide additional insights into emerging treatments for AD.

“(When) you consider both aspects of tau pathology, so the tau speed as well as the tau level rise, it might provide a bit more refined means to have a look at the efficacy of these novel AD drug compounds that are currently tested in the clinics,” posited Dr. Hoenig, a postdoctoral researcher at the Julich Research Center in Julich, Germany.

(Editor’s note: For related content, see “New Study Shows Impact of Tau-Positive PET in Risk Stratification for Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease,” “A Closer Look at the New Appropriate Use Criteria for Brain PET: An Interview with Philip Kuo, MD, Part 2” and “New PET and MRI Research Suggests that Visceral Fat Reduction May Prevent or Delay Alzheimer’s Disease.”)

For more insights from Dr. Hoenig, watch the video below.

Reference

1. Hoenig M, Dzialas V, Doering E, Bischof G, Van Eimeren T, Drzezga A. The speed limits of tau pathology progression in Alzheimer’s disease. Presented at the Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) conference, June 21-24, 2025, New Orleans. Available at: https://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/66/supplement_1/251040 .