Abstract
The relationship between causes of death and 4 major neurodegenerative brain proteins (beta-amyloid, tau, alpha-synuclein, and the TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) were assessed in 94 cognitively normal elderly participants that died without a neurodegenerative disease. There was an association between tau and causes of death (p = 0.01). Tau in the brain was associated with a reduced likelihood of dying from systemic cancers (p = 0.046), and with an increased likelihood of dying from pulmonary (p = 0.03) and gastrointestinal (p = 0.049) diseases. There were no associations between beta-amyloid, alpha-synuclein, or TDP-43 and causes of death. Tau deposition in the brain may have a relationship with systemic causes of death, including cancer, in the cognitively normal elderly.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 163-166 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Neurobiology of aging |
Volume | 50 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 1 2017 |
Keywords
- Cancer
- Gastrointestinal disease
- Mortality
- Normal aging
- Pulmonary disease
- Tau
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience
- Aging
- Clinical Neurology
- Developmental Biology
- Geriatrics and Gerontology