Nat Med: Does Tau's molecular diversity make Alzheimer's clinicalhesis?

Alzheimer's disease (AD) can lead to sexual cognitive impairment, but its process estoctic, cognitive decline rates range wideexisting studies have shown that the spread of tau aggregates (neural fibrous tangles) throughout the brain is parallel to the severity of symptomsAs a result, the researchers speculate that the dynamics of tau propagation may vary from person to person if the properties of the spreading tau protein are different, the researchers performed biochemical, biophysical, MS, and cell- and animal-based bioactivity assays to characterize tau proteins in 32 AD patientsresearchers found that the high phosphorylation species of soluble, oligomer, and seed-capable tau had significant patient heterogeneityTau seed activity is associated with aggressiveness of clinical diseases, and some post-translational modification (PTM) sites appear to be associated with increased seed activity and poorer clinical results, while some sites are notthese data suggest that different 'typical' AD individuals may have unique tau biochemical characteristicsThese data are consistent with the likelihood that individuals will have AD, and like cancer patients, an otherwise common epitope may have multiple molecular drivers and highlight the advantages of personalized treatments to slow down clinical progression of AD