# Tau PET in 601 patients: early-onset Alzheimer's shows higher, faster tau buildup than late-onset

- Published: 2026-11-05 13:37 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: early-onset Alzheimer's disease, late-onset Alzheimer's disease, tau PET, amyloid PET, tau accumulation, Konstantinos Chiotis, ADNI, tauopathy, neurodegenerative diseases, clinical decline
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-00e84b81384a0ef457186ac7_tau_pet_in/

**A comparison of PET scans of 390 early-onset and 211 late-onset patients found higher baseline tau and faster accumulation in the younger group. The authors say treatment targets may differ.**

![Tau PET in 601 patients: early-onset Alzheimer's shows higher, faster tau buildup than late-onset](https://sgzwpqqelzmajkcubgkl.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/rt-media/2026/11/821cc3dc296e0f9b.jpg)
*Unknown photographer, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain*

A group led by Konstantinos Chiotis compared tau PET scans of 601 amyloid-PET-positive, cognitively impaired participants with Alzheimer's disease. The cohort included 390 people with early-onset disease (EOAD) and 211 with late-onset disease (LOAD). The work was posted on medRxiv, and a news release dated 4 November 2026 reports its publication in Science Translational Medicine [1]. Early-onset cases were defined as onset before age 65, late-onset cases as onset after 65.

EOAD participants came from the Longitudinal Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Study, and LOAD participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. The authors compared baseline and longitudinal tau PET burden between the two groups and related it to clinical variables [1].

## Higher tau and faster accumulation

Patients with EOAD showed higher baseline tau PET retention than patients with LOAD, according to the authors. The involvement of brain regions was broader, and tau accumulated faster over time. These differences remained after adjustment for amyloid load and clinical stage [1].

The release describes the same pattern in plain terms: in younger patients, tau levels were higher at the onset of disease and rose more quickly across a wider area of the brain.

## Links with amyloid and clinical measures

In EOAD, tau PET correlated more strongly with baseline amyloid burden than in LOAD. Correlations with clinical measures of global cognition and function were also stronger in the early-onset group [1].

The authors conclude that earlier age of onset in Alzheimer's disease is linked to a more aggressive tauopathy, which they consider a primary driver of clinical decline [1]. They suggest that optimal therapeutic targets and strategies may differ between EOAD and LOAD.

The release notes that Alzheimer's disease usually appears after age 65, while a minority of patients develop it earlier and tend to show different symptoms. According to Chiotis and colleagues, a deeper understanding of similarities and differences in disease pathophysiology across ages will help identify optimal therapeutic approaches. The release also says the data can inform the design of future trials and treatment strategies.

## Sources

1. [medRxiv](https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aea2816)
2. [EurekAlert](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1150021)

---

Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-00e84b81384a0ef457186ac7_tau_pet_in/