Penn Study Finds 30-Dose Aducanumab Curbed Tau in Cleared Alzheimer’s Brain Regions
Updated
Updated · Penn Today · Jul 15
Penn Study Finds 30-Dose Aducanumab Curbed Tau in Cleared Alzheimer’s Brain Regions
3 articles · Updated · Penn Today · Jul 15
Summary
A Penn Medicine autopsy of an Alzheimer’s trial participant found brain regions where Aducanumab cleared amyloid plaques showed little to no tau tangles, while nearby uncleared regions showed heavier tau buildup and neurodegeneration.
The analysis covered a man in his 50s with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s who received 30 doses over 4.5 years, giving researchers a rare side-by-side view within the same brain.
Gyri—the crests of brain folds—were largely plaque-free with minimal tau, but adjacent sulci retained substantial amyloid along with more inflammation and ongoing brain damage.
That patchwork matched scans taken during the patient’s life, which had already shown uneven amyloid clearance across brain regions.
Presented at the 2026 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference and published in JAMA, the findings add rare human evidence that early, extensive amyloid removal may slow Alzheimer’s by limiting tau accumulation.
Is targeting brain 'tangles,' not plaques, the real key to an Alzheimer's cure?
If Alzheimer's drugs can't reach the whole brain, can the disease ever be stopped?
2026 Autopsy Reveals Patchy Amyloid Removal and Lasting Tau Impact: Rethinking Alzheimer’s Treatment Strategies
Overview
A recent 2026 autopsy of a patient treated with aducanumab has provided direct evidence that amyloid plaques are not cleared evenly across the brain. This uneven clearance leaves persistent pockets of amyloid, which may explain why some areas of the brain continue to show disease progression and varied treatment responses. The findings also highlight the lasting impact of these amyloid pockets, especially in relation to the development and spread of tau tangles, deepening our understanding of how anti-amyloid therapies influence Alzheimer's disease at a cellular level.