Tau imaging agents may be the future of neuroimaging in Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, according to market research firm GlobalData.
Successful clinical trial results will lead to the development of tau protein-based therapies that are being developed to treat Alzheimer's, the firm said.
Tau proteins, not plaques, are now widely believed to be the main biomarkers driving the loss of brain tissue, and subsequently loss of memory, based on the discovery that tau proteins increase while plaques remain stable on imaging as the disease progresses, the company wrote.
The firm estimates that Alzheimer's cases will total 4.3 million by 2022 in the U.S. alone, driving the demand for imaging to visualize and quantify disease progression, particularly through the use of Alzheimer's biomarkers such as tau imaging agents.
