AI-driven fusion of multimodal data for Alzheimer's disease biomarker assessment.

Journal: Nature communications
Published Date:

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis hinges on detecting amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tau (τ) tangles, typically assessed using PET imaging. While accurate, these modalities are expensive and not widely accessible, limiting their utility in routine clinical practice. Here, we present a multimodal computational framework that integrates data from seven distinct cohorts comprising 12, 185 participants to estimate individual PET profiles using more readily available neurological assessments. Our approach achieved an AUROC of 0.79 and 0.84 in classifying Aβ and τ status, respectively. Predicted PET status was consistent with various biomarker profiles and postmortem pathology, and model-identified regional brain volumes aligned with known spatial patterns of tau deposition. This approach can support scalable pre-screening of candidates for anti-amyloid therapies and clinical trials targeting Aβ and τ, offering a practical alternative to direct PET imaging.

Authors

  • Varuna H Jasodanand
    Department of Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
  • Sahana S Kowshik
    Department of Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
  • Shreyas Puducheri
    Department of Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
  • Michael F Romano
    Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Medicine, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Brighton, MA, USA; Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
  • Lingyi Xu
    Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
  • Rhoda Au
    Boston University School of Medicine, rhodaau@bu.edu.
  • Vijaya B Kolachalama
    1Section of Computational Biomedicine, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118 USA.