# UCSF: early-onset Alzheimer's has higher tau PET load and faster tau accumulation than late-onset

- Published: 2026-11-05 14:10 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: early-onset Alzheimer's disease, late-onset Alzheimer's disease, tau PET, tau accumulation, amyloid PET, LEADS, ADNI, tauopathy, UCSF
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-7a747fc3b398f9ceb94d5d48_ucsf_early_onset/

**A comparison of 390 early-onset and 211 late-onset patients with amyloid-positive cognitive impairment found more extensive tau deposits and faster accumulation in the younger group.**

![UCSF: early-onset Alzheimer's has higher tau PET load and faster tau accumulation than late-onset](https://sgzwpqqelzmajkcubgkl.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/rt-media/2026/11/dd4e0bffcd886355.jpg)
*Unknown photographer, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain*

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues compared tau protein burden in early-onset and late-onset Alzheimer's disease using PET imaging, according to a study posted on medRxiv [1]. The analysis included 390 early-onset participants from the Longitudinal Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Study (mean age 59) and 211 late-onset participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (mean age 78) [1]. Early onset means that symptoms begin before age 65.

All participants had mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease and amyloid-positive PET scans. A subset underwent repeat tau PET scans over an average follow-up of two to three years, which allowed the authors to track changes over time.

## Tau burden and rate of accumulation

Patients with early-onset disease showed higher baseline tau PET retention, broader neuroanatomical involvement and faster accumulation over time than late-onset patients, after adjustment for amyloid load and clinical stage [1]. According to the press release accompanying the study, tau accumulated at more than twice the rate in the younger group.

Tau PET correlated more strongly with baseline amyloid burden, and with clinical measures of global cognition and function, in early-onset than in late-onset patients [1]. The authors conclude that earlier age of onset is linked to a more aggressive tauopathy, which is a primary driver of clinical decline [1].

## Clinical presentation and treatment questions

Early-onset disease accounts for about 5% of Alzheimer's patients. In this cohort, one in five early-onset patients had a non-memory-dominant presentation, such as language, visual-spatial or executive difficulties. Among late-onset patients with a documented presentation, more than 99% had a memory-dominant form. Carriers of known disease-causing mutations were excluded.

The differences between the groups were much greater for tau than for amyloid. The two approved drugs that slow disease progression target amyloid, and this study did not test any treatment. The authors suggest that optimal therapeutic targets and strategies may differ between early-onset and late-onset disease [1]. Senior author Gil Rabinovici said that younger patients may be good candidates for clinical trials combining treatments that target amyloid and tau. The work was also published in Science Translational Medicine.

## Sources

1. [medRxiv](https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aea2816)
2. [EurekAlert](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1150041)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-7a747fc3b398f9ceb94d5d48_ucsf_early_onset/