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Japanese Research Uses Tau PET to Reveal Association with Symptom Progression in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy

A research team at the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) in Japan recently announced findings from a study on progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Using their self-developed tau PET imaging technology, the researchers conducted follow-up scans on the same group of PSP patients at approximately one-year intervals, confirming for the first time in living brains that the faster tau protein accumulates in the globus pallidus region deep within the brain, the faster patient symptoms progress. The findings were published on September 5, 2026, in the international neurology journal *Movement Disorders*. Characteristic tau protein accumulation regions in PSP Progressive supranuclear palsy is a progressive neurodegenerative disease occurring in middle-aged and older adults, with common manifestations including increased risk of falls, difficulty with movement, eye movement disorders, postural instability, and cognitive dysfunction. There is currently no therapy that can cure or halt disease progression; therefore, establishing biomarkers that can objectively reflect disease changes and treatment efficacy has been a critical issue in drug development. Previous autopsy studies have shown that abnormal tau protein accumulation in the brains of PSP patients is an important pathological feature, particularly concentrated in deep brain regions such as the globus pallidus and midbrain. However, autopsy samples cannot be used for long-term dynamic observation, and how tau protein accumulation changes over time and how it corresponds to symptom progression had previously remained unclear. In recent years, positron emission tomography (PET) has made it possible to observe tau protein in living brains, but existing studies have mainly shown that tau protein increases over time without sufficiently demonstrating a direct association between these changes and symptom worsening. In this study, the research team used the PET radiopharmaceutical 18F-PM-PBB3 developed by QST, namely florzolotau (18F), to perform two PET examinations on 26 PSP patients and 10 healthy controls, conducted at baseline and approximately one year later. The researchers combined 57 brain regions identified by MRI and performed multivariate analysis of PET signal changes to identify PSP-related tau protein accumulation regions and their spread over time. The results showed that at baseline, tau protein in PSP patients was primarily accumulated in subcortical regions such as the globus pallidus and midbrain, consistent with previous reports. Follow-up imaging at one year showed further increases in tau protein accumulation in the globus pallidus, along with marked increases in tau accumulation in the frontoparietal lobes and cerebellar white matter, suggesting that during the course of PSP, tau protein may spread from deep brain regions to the cerebral cortex and cerebellar-related areas. The research team further focused on Richardson's syndrome, the most typical and common subtype of PSP. This subtype typically progresses rapidly, and the 18 patients with this subtype included in this study showed significant increases in PSP rating scale scores within one year. The analysis found that changes in tau protein accumulation in the globus pallidus showed the strongest correlation with the degree of symptom progression; that is, the faster tau protein accumulated in this region, the more pronounced the worsening of patient symptoms. Analyses of individual patients likewise showed that globus pallidus tau protein accumulation can reflect the course of PSP from mild to severe stages. The researchers believe that serial tau PET imaging has the potential to serve as a novel imaging biomarker for assessing PSP disease progression, and also provides a basis for tau-targeted therapeutic strategies: if future therapies can inhibit tau protein accumulation, it may be possible to slow symptom progression. Next steps still require longer-term follow-up in a larger number of patients to validate the relationship between changes in tau protein accumulation and overall symptom progression and treatment response. The imaging assessment method established in this study may not only be used for disease monitoring and clinical trial efficacy evaluation in PSP, but may also be extended to research on other tau protein-related neurodegenerative diseases and dementias, providing new technical support for the diagnosis and therapeutic development of related diseases.

2026-09-07

Cubresa Brain PET Scanner Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance, Integrates with Existing PET/MR Systems

Molecular imaging technology company Cubresa Inc. announced on August 20 that its Cubresa BrainPET™ scanner has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to the company, the Cubresa BrainPET™ is a positron emission tomography (PET) device specifically designed for brain imaging and can be integrated into existing Siemens Biograph mMR MR/PET systems. The device enables healthcare institutions to perform simultaneous PET/MR brain imaging on existing MRI infrastructure, capturing molecular and anatomical information without the need to purchase a separate whole-body hybrid imaging system. Cubresa founder and CEO James ...

2026-08-22

Global PET Market Expected to Reach $2.81 Billion by 2035, PET-CT Remains Dominant

A market research report shows that the global Positron Emission Tomography (PET) market size is expected to increase from $1.86 billion in 2025 to $2.81 billion by 2035, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.26% from 2026 to 2035. Increased demand for cancer diagnosis, expanded application of hybrid imaging technologies such as PET-CT and PET-MRI, and continued development of molecular imaging technologies are considered major factors driving market growth. The report notes that PET scans are being increasingly used in scenarios such as cancer detection and treatment evaluation, cardiac disease assessment, and diagnosis of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Meanwhile, population aging, rising healthcare expenditures, and growing demand for early screening are also driving...

2026-08-23

Decoding the Clinical-Radiological Paradox: Brain Network Mechanisms in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 Revealed

On August 17, the team of Professor Liu Chen and Professor Wang Jian from the Department of Radiology at Southwest Hospital of Army Medical University, in collaboration with Professor Long Zhiliang's team from the Faculty of Psychology at Southwest University, systematically revealed for the first time the micro-level molecular pathological mechanisms underlying macroscopic brain network decoupling in patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) by integrating multimodal magnetic resonance imaging technology with high-resolution micro-biological atlases. This provides a novel perspective and objective imaging targets for resolving the clinical-radiological dissociation challenge in clinical diagnosis and treatment. The findings were published in the internationally leading journal in the field of movement disorders under the title "Putaminal Structure-Function Decoupling as an Early Candidate Imaging Biomarker for Motor Severity in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3."

2026-08-18

Morehead State University Receives $50,000 Grant to Support Nuclear Medicine Technology Bachelor's Program

Morehead State University in the United States recently received a $50,000 grant to strengthen its Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Medicine Technology program, supporting the university's efforts to train medical imaging professionals for Kentucky's healthcare system. The funding was provided by the Kentucky Board of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy and administered by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. The project funds were awarded through a competitive bidding process, with a focus on supporting nuclear medicine technology education programs in Kentucky, aiming to increase the number of qualified professionals entering the state's healthcare industry. The newly established nuclear medicine technology undergraduate program under Morehead State University's Department of Imaging Sciences will prepare students in the field of medical imaging...

2026-08-11