Abstract

Early Markers of Tau Aggregation Pathology for Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease

Claude Wischik, Executive Chairman & Co Founder, TauRx Therapeutics Ltd

The brain pathology originally discovered by Alzheimer is the neurofibrillary tangle which is composed of a pathologically polymerised form of the microtubule associated protein Tau. Tau aggregation pathology affects 54% of the over-45 population in the EU (172 / 318 million). The pathology arises as an endogenously generated prion-like cascade which spreads across the brain in parallel with increasing cognitive impairment. The spread has been formalised into the Braak staging system with 6 severity stages. Stages 1 & 2 are clinically silent with peak ages in the 50’s and precede overt disease by about 20 years. With the advent of potential therapies for this pathology which can delay or even arrest its spread at an early stage, there is an urgent need to develop cheap clinical markers that could be used in primary care. These include psychometric markers, EEG markers and blood markers, the potential of which is reviewed.