
Age-specific and sex-specific prevalence of cerebral β-amyloidosis, tauopathy, and neurodegeneration in cognitively unimpaired individuals aged 50–95 years: a cross-sectional study
The Lancet Neurology
Volume 16, No. 6, p435–444, June 2017
Prof Clifford R Jack Jr, MD’Correspondence information about the author Prof Clifford R JackEmail the author Prof Clifford R Jack, Heather J Wiste, BA, Stephen D Weigand, MS, Prof Terry M Therneau, PhD, Prof David S Knopman, MD, Prof Val Lowe, MD, Prashanthi Vemuri, PhD, Prof Michelle M Mielke, PhD, Prof Rosebud O Roberts, MB ChB, Mary M Machulda, PhD, Matthew L Senjem, MS, Jeffrey L Gunter, PhD, Prof Walter A Rocca, MD, Prof Ronald C Petersen
Abstarct
Background: A new classification for biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive ageing research is based on grouping the markers into three categories: amyloid deposition (A), tauopathy (T), and neurodegeneration or neuronal injury (N). Dichotomising these biomarkers as normal or abnormal results in eight possible profiles. We determined the clinical characteristics and prevalence of each ATN profile in cognitively unimpaired individuals aged 50 years and older.
Methods: All participants were in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, a population-based study that uses a medical records linkage system to enumerate all individuals aged 50–89 years in Olmsted County, MN, USA. Potential participants are randomly selected, stratified by age and sex, and invited to participate in cognitive assessments; individuals without medical contraindications are invited to participate in brain imaging studies.