In-Vivo Evidence for Increased Tau Deposition in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

In-Vivo Evidence for Increased Tau Deposition in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article In-Vivo Evidence for Increased Tau Deposition in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Raul R. Cruces, Jack Lam, Thaera Arafat, Jessica Royer, Judy Chen, and 16 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6711178/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), the most common pharmaco-resistant epilepsy in adults, has been linked to structural brain changes extending beyond the mesiotemporal areas. While not traditionally viewed as a neurodegenerative disorder, recent ex-vivo studies have shown elevated levels of misfolded tau protein in TLE. This study investigated tau deposition in TLE patients using the in-vivo PET tracer [18F]MK-6240. We studied 28 TLE patients and 28 healthy controls to assess tau uptake and its relationship with brain connectivity, clinical variables, and cognitive function. Compared to controls, TLE patients exhibited markedly increased [18F]MK-6240 uptake in bilateral superior and medial temporal regions and the parietal cortex, with tau accumulation following regional functional and structural connectivity and cognitive impairment. These findings suggest that tau accumulation contributes to cognitive decline observed in TLE, supporting a potential role of tau in epilepsy-related neurodegeneration. Health sciences/Medical research/Biomarkers/Prognostic markers Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Diseases of the nervous system/Epilepsy Temporal lobe epilepsy [18F]MK-6240 tauopathy neuroimaging neuroinflammation Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6711178","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":629131801,"identity":"495139c7-2b1c-4b26-95a7-6e93efbe722b","order_by":0,"name":"Raul R. 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While not traditionally viewed as a neurodegenerative disorder, recent ex-vivo studies have shown elevated levels of misfolded tau protein in TLE. This study investigated tau deposition in TLE patients using the in-vivo PET tracer [18F]MK-6240. We studied 28 TLE patients and 28 healthy controls to assess tau uptake and its relationship with brain connectivity, clinical variables, and cognitive function. Compared to controls, TLE patients exhibited markedly increased [18F]MK-6240 uptake in bilateral superior and medial temporal regions and the parietal cortex, with tau accumulation following regional functional and structural connectivity and cognitive impairment. 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