Tau changes in astrocytes were linked to neurodegeneration in younger donated brains
Original source
Medial temporal ageing-related tau astrogliopathy below 66 years is associated with neurodegeneration. (opens in a new tab)Compass summarised this from the study's abstract.
Study details
- Studied in
- Human
A study found ageing-related tau astrogliopathy (ARTAG), or abnormal tau in brain-supporting astrocytes, in 26 of 157 donated brains from people aged 48 to 65. ARTAG was usually limited to the medial temporal lobe and was associated with neurodegenerative conditions of any kind, even after accounting for age and sex. No significant link was found with any specific protein disorder.
Why this matters
The findings may help researchers study how astrocytes relate to abnormal protein accumulation in the brain. The study was not specific to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or motor neurone disease (MND), and it does not change treatment or establish that ARTAG causes neurodegeneration.
Limitations and context
This was a postmortem study of donated brain tissue, so it shows associations rather than causation. The younger cohort included 157 brains, and the participants' clinical diagnoses and characteristics may not represent people living with ALS/MND. The study did not find a significant association with a specific proteinopathy, including TDP-43 proteinopathy. Further research would be needed to determine whether these findings apply to ALS/MND or living patients.