It is unclear whether the distribution of tau pathology differs between cases with early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease (AD) and sporadic AD. We present positron emission tomography (PET) data from a young patient with a presenilin-1 mutation (Thr116Asn). 18F-flutemetamol PET showed a distribution of amyloid-β fibrils similar to sporadic AD. However, the pattern of tau pathology, revealed using 18F-AV1451 PET, showed higher uptake in posterior cingulate, precuneus, parietal and occipital cortices compared to late-onset sporadic AD. Further, the tau pathology, but not amyloid pathology, exhibited a very clear inverse relationship with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-metabolism, indicating neuronal hypometabolism in regions affected by tau aggregates.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; positron-emission tomography; presenilins; tau proteins.