The relationship between causes of death and 4 major neurodegenerative brain proteins (beta-amyloid, tau, alpha-synuclein, and the TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) were assessed in 94 cognitively normal elderly participants that died without a neurodegenerative disease. There was an association between tau and causes of death (p = 0.01). Tau in the brain was associated with a reduced likelihood of dying from systemic cancers (p = 0.046), and with an increased likelihood of dying from pulmonary (p = 0.03) and gastrointestinal (p = 0.049) diseases. There were no associations between beta-amyloid, alpha-synuclein, or TDP-43 and causes of death. Tau deposition in the brain may have a relationship with systemic causes of death, including cancer, in the cognitively normal elderly.
CITATION STYLE
Josephs, K. A., Tosakulwong, N., Weigand, S. D., Murray, M. E., Whitwell, J. L., Parisi, J. E., … Petersen, R. C. (2017). Brain tau deposition linked to systemic causes of death in normal elderly. Neurobiology of Aging, 50, 163–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.11.011
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