Citations 1
Brain regional susceptibility to tauopathy in individuals at risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy
Wiegand, Tim L. T., Rubinski, Anna, Jung, Leonard B., Franzmeier, Nicolai, Arciniega, Hector , Ravanfar, Parsa , Alosco, Michael L., Tripodis, Yorghos, Su, Yi, Protas, Hillary, Lin, Alexander P., Pasternak, Ofer, Chen, Kewei, Bouix, Sylvain, Adler, Charles H., Balcer, Laura J. , Bernick, Charles, Cummings, Jeffrey L., Stern, Robert A., Reiman, Eric M., Shenton, Martha E., Ewers, Michael, Wiegand, Tim L. T. , Koerte, Inga K , Rubinski, Anna , Jung, Leonard , Franzmeier, Nicolai , Dewenter, Anna , Alosco, Michael L. , Tripodis, Yorghos , Su, Yi, Protas, Hillary , Pasternak, Ofer , Coleman, Michael , Bouix, Sylvain , Adler, Charles H. , Bernick, Charles , Reiman, Eric M. , Shenton, Martha E. , Ewers, Michael
Alzheimer's & Dementia | June 17, 2026 | Volume: 22 | Issue: 6 | Pages: No page available
Abstract INTRODUCTION Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a tauopathy linked to repetitive head impacts. Factors influencing brain regional susceptibility to tau deposition and spreading remain unclear. METHODS We used three datasets: [18F]flortaucipir positron emission tomography (PET) in 157 former professional American football players and 53 controls (DIAGNOSE CTE); cortical myelin water fractions (MWF) in 50 healthy individuals (Myelin Water Atlas); and white matter (WM) tract MWF and functional connectivity (FC) in 100 healthy individuals (Human Connectome Project). We tested associations between tau‐PET uptake and covariance in football players and typical cortical gray matter (GM) MWF, WM tract MWF, and FC. RESULTS Cortical regions with lower typical GM MWF showed higher tau‐PET uptake ( β = −0.399, p = 0.001). WM tracts with lower typical MWF were associated with higher tau‐PET covariance ( β = −0.238, p < 0.001). Higher typical FC was associated with higher tau‐PET covariance ( β = 0.447, p < 0.001). DISCUSSION In former football players at risk for CTE, regional susceptibility to tau deposition may be driven by low myelin and high FC.