Choroidal evaluation of FTLD-Tau and biomarker-determined Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract Frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tauopathy (FTLD-Tau) can present clinically similar to Alzheimer’s disease but lacks a biomarker. Alzheimer’s disease has been associated with choroidal thinning compared to controls. We compared the choroid of 25 probable FTLD-Tau (pFTLD-Tau) patients...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Benjamin J. Kim, Tomas S. Aleman, Katheryn A. Q. Cousins, Ebenezer Daniel, Eli Smith, Emma Iacobucci, Anton Kolomeyer, Christopher K. Hwang, Corey T. McMillan, Vivianna M. Van Deerlin, Jeffrey S. Phillips, Yinxi Yu, Gui-Shuang Ying, David J. Irwin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02020-z
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849238667871125504
author Benjamin J. Kim
Tomas S. Aleman
Katheryn A. Q. Cousins
Ebenezer Daniel
Eli Smith
Emma Iacobucci
Anton Kolomeyer
Christopher K. Hwang
Corey T. McMillan
Vivianna M. Van Deerlin
Jeffrey S. Phillips
Yinxi Yu
Gui-Shuang Ying
David J. Irwin
author_facet Benjamin J. Kim
Tomas S. Aleman
Katheryn A. Q. Cousins
Ebenezer Daniel
Eli Smith
Emma Iacobucci
Anton Kolomeyer
Christopher K. Hwang
Corey T. McMillan
Vivianna M. Van Deerlin
Jeffrey S. Phillips
Yinxi Yu
Gui-Shuang Ying
David J. Irwin
author_sort Benjamin J. Kim
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tauopathy (FTLD-Tau) can present clinically similar to Alzheimer’s disease but lacks a biomarker. Alzheimer’s disease has been associated with choroidal thinning compared to controls. We compared the choroid of 25 probable FTLD-Tau (pFTLD-Tau) patients (42 eyes), 26 biomarker-determined probable Alzheimer’s disease neuropathologic change (pADNC) patients (49 eyes), and 53 normal controls (80 eyes). Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers determined presence of ADNC. All pFTLD-Tau patients had a syndrome highly associated with FTLD-Tau. Optical coherence tomography was performed with masked manual choroidal thickness (CT) measurements. With Image J, binarized images determined the choroidal vascularity index (CVI). Linear regression with generalized estimating equations to account for inter-eye correlation was performed. For pFTLD-Tau, pADNC, and controls, the subfoveal CT was 308.9, 286.0, and 301.5 μm, and CVI was 0.72, 0.72, and 0.73, respectively (all p > 0.05 for each group comparison). Adjusting for demographics, the CT and CVI were not significantly different between groups, including 13 CT measurement locations (all p > 0.05). Among pADNC patients, an exploratory analysis found a correlation between CVI and disease duration (Pearson r = 0.32, p = 0.04). We found no significant difference of CT or CVI between pFTLD-Tau, pADNC, and controls. Additional studies are warranted to evaluate how CVI relates to ADNC.
format Article
id doaj-art-158ee7aa1a2c42aa8a1765b95ab8b13a
institution Kabale University
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-158ee7aa1a2c42aa8a1765b95ab8b13a2025-08-20T04:01:26ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111110.1038/s41598-025-02020-zChoroidal evaluation of FTLD-Tau and biomarker-determined Alzheimer’s diseaseBenjamin J. Kim0Tomas S. Aleman1Katheryn A. Q. Cousins2Ebenezer Daniel3Eli Smith4Emma Iacobucci5Anton Kolomeyer6Christopher K. Hwang7Corey T. McMillan8Vivianna M. Van Deerlin9Jeffrey S. Phillips10Yinxi Yu11Gui-Shuang Ying12David J. Irwin13Scheie Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaScheie Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaFrontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaScheie Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaScheie Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaScheie Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaScheie Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaScheie Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaFrontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaFrontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaScheie Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaScheie Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaFrontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaAbstract Frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tauopathy (FTLD-Tau) can present clinically similar to Alzheimer’s disease but lacks a biomarker. Alzheimer’s disease has been associated with choroidal thinning compared to controls. We compared the choroid of 25 probable FTLD-Tau (pFTLD-Tau) patients (42 eyes), 26 biomarker-determined probable Alzheimer’s disease neuropathologic change (pADNC) patients (49 eyes), and 53 normal controls (80 eyes). Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers determined presence of ADNC. All pFTLD-Tau patients had a syndrome highly associated with FTLD-Tau. Optical coherence tomography was performed with masked manual choroidal thickness (CT) measurements. With Image J, binarized images determined the choroidal vascularity index (CVI). Linear regression with generalized estimating equations to account for inter-eye correlation was performed. For pFTLD-Tau, pADNC, and controls, the subfoveal CT was 308.9, 286.0, and 301.5 μm, and CVI was 0.72, 0.72, and 0.73, respectively (all p > 0.05 for each group comparison). Adjusting for demographics, the CT and CVI were not significantly different between groups, including 13 CT measurement locations (all p > 0.05). Among pADNC patients, an exploratory analysis found a correlation between CVI and disease duration (Pearson r = 0.32, p = 0.04). We found no significant difference of CT or CVI between pFTLD-Tau, pADNC, and controls. Additional studies are warranted to evaluate how CVI relates to ADNC.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02020-z
spellingShingle Benjamin J. Kim
Tomas S. Aleman
Katheryn A. Q. Cousins
Ebenezer Daniel
Eli Smith
Emma Iacobucci
Anton Kolomeyer
Christopher K. Hwang
Corey T. McMillan
Vivianna M. Van Deerlin
Jeffrey S. Phillips
Yinxi Yu
Gui-Shuang Ying
David J. Irwin
Choroidal evaluation of FTLD-Tau and biomarker-determined Alzheimer’s disease
Scientific Reports
title Choroidal evaluation of FTLD-Tau and biomarker-determined Alzheimer’s disease
title_full Choroidal evaluation of FTLD-Tau and biomarker-determined Alzheimer’s disease
title_fullStr Choroidal evaluation of FTLD-Tau and biomarker-determined Alzheimer’s disease
title_full_unstemmed Choroidal evaluation of FTLD-Tau and biomarker-determined Alzheimer’s disease
title_short Choroidal evaluation of FTLD-Tau and biomarker-determined Alzheimer’s disease
title_sort choroidal evaluation of ftld tau and biomarker determined alzheimer s disease
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02020-z
work_keys_str_mv AT benjaminjkim choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease
AT tomassaleman choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease
AT katherynaqcousins choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease
AT ebenezerdaniel choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease
AT elismith choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease
AT emmaiacobucci choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease
AT antonkolomeyer choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease
AT christopherkhwang choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease
AT coreytmcmillan choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease
AT viviannamvandeerlin choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease
AT jeffreysphillips choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease
AT yinxiyu choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease
AT guishuangying choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease
AT davidjirwin choroidalevaluationofftldtauandbiomarkerdeterminedalzheimersdisease