Boston University CTE Center

Thank you to Boston University and Boston University Experts for the new series ��CTE: How BU Is Changing the Game.�� We are grateful for the opportunity to share a more in-depth look at our research and the work that our team does everyday. And most of all, we are grateful to highlight the critical role of our brain donor families who generously and bravely contribute to this work and continue to share their stories. It is an honor to work with these families and our work is not possible without each and every one of them. We look forward to sharing more as we work toward new milestones and research achievements. Stay tuned to learn more and you can check out the five-part series now at: https://lnkd.in/euqyqNnq

Congratulations to CTE Center Senior Neuropathology Research Fellow Ray Nicks for being named the February Distinguished Staff of the Month at the Boston University School of Medicine! Swipe to learn more about Ray and his role at the CTE Center.

As Black History Month comes to a close, learn more about the importance of representation in research and the growing importance of community-based participatory research. A reminder that you can find more information and resources on Black History Month in our February Cognitive Kit at bit.ly/bucte_febkit25.

For today's CTE FAQ, we are discussing how to get CTE. Please feel free to comment or message us additional questions and visit bu.edu/cte to learn more and see additional FAQs.

The BU Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Research Day will be?Tuesday, March 4, from 1:00 to 5:00 pm in the Instructional Building Hiebert Lounge. Members of the BU community can learn more about opportunities available and the research being done at the BU ADRC. You can RSVP here: https://bit.ly/41w415c

Can we use tau positron emission tomography (PET) to detect?chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)?during life??Our new study published in Molecular Neurodegeneration?addressed this question: https://lnkd.in/dha5iV6c. Two studies were done: (1) 3H-MK-6240 autoradiography and an in-vitro binding studies on?autopsy-confirmed?CTE tissue,?and?(2)?in?vivo?18F-MK-6240 tau PET study in former National Football League (NFL) players. This is what we found: (1) Clear signal on 3H-MK-6240 autoradiography and high binding affinity (KD = 2.0) in one of six cases with autopsy-confirmed CTE stage III (high stage). Binding affinity in CTE case was less than an?Alzheimer's disease comparison (KD = 0.46).?Signal corresponded to the tau-immunoreactive lesions in the CTE case, but less prominent than the Alzheimer's disease case. The other CTE cases had sparse p-tau and?no?clear signal.? (2) The in vivo study of symptomatic?amyloid-PET negative former NFL players showed variable, low-medium intensity 18F-MK-6240 signal across?participants, including?16 with?no cortical signal,?7?with medial temporal lobe uptake,?2?with focal frontal uptake, and 4 with?both medial temporal lobe?+?frontal uptake.?Frontal and medial temporal lobes are affected in high stage CTE (stage III/IV).?Figure 2 (below) from the manuscript shows these different patterns in four former NFL players. (3) At the group level, former NFL players had greater 18F-MK-6240 uptake in the entorhinal cortex and the entire parahippocampal gyrus compared with?a?control group.?No group differences for cortical regions. (4) There?was?off-target meningeal binding in all cases. My interpretation of the data: inconclusive. 18F-MK-6240 might have value in high stage CTE when the tau is most dense particularly in the medial temporal lobes. It seems unlikely that 18F-MK-6240 will be an optimal, diagnostic biomarker for CTE p-tau pathology particularly at the low stages of disease. It will be challenging to detect low stage CTE using tau PET, in general. What works well for Alzheimer's disease might not be optimal for CTE! Discovery efforts needed! Sidebar: Team science at its best! This is the product of a National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (Nsini Umoh) funded study, led by Dr. Gil Rabinovici and Renaud La Joie at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center and our team at the Boston University School of Medicine. The study involved efforts from many people and institutions including teams from the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston Medical Center (BMC), Concussion Legacy Foundation (Christopher Nowinski, PhD), VA Boston Healthcare System, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Take a look at the new review article ��Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: State-of-the-science update and narrative review�� First Author: Breton Asken, PhD, ATC Senior Author: Michael Alosco, PhD Learn more here: https://bit.ly/4bhZs1B

Take a look at this piece by our director, Ann McKee, MD, that was featured in the 35th Annual BUMC Art Days exhibition earlier this week. The exhibition showcases art from members of the BUMC community.

Take a look at the new article ��Single- versus two-test criteria for cognitive impairment: associations with CSF and imaging markers in former American football players�� which uses data from the DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project. First Author: Monica Ly, PhD Senior Author: Michael Alosco, PhD Learn more here: https://bit.ly/41bypAm

We thank the Hull family for their generous donation and contribution to our research.