Nature Communications (Oct 2017)

Earliest accumulation of β-amyloid occurs within the default-mode network and concurrently affects brain connectivity

  • Sebastian Palmqvist,
  • Michael Schöll,
  • Olof Strandberg,
  • Niklas Mattsson,
  • Erik Stomrud,
  • Henrik Zetterberg,
  • Kaj Blennow,
  • Susan Landau,
  • William Jagust,
  • Oskar Hansson

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-01150-x
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 13

Abstract

Read online

Abnormal levels of Aβ42 in the cerebrospinal fluid occur prior to a positive amyloid PET scan in the brain of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and here the authors use this temporal pattern to identify individuals with very early stage AD. They show that Aβ fibrils start to accumulate in some of the regions of the default mode network and affect brain connectivity before neurodegeneration occurs.