RSNA: Faster Rate of Amyloid Accumulation Seen With Obesity

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Faster amyloid accumulation is seen over time among individuals with obesity, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, held from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4 in Chicago.Cyrus Raji, M.D., Ph.D., from the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues examined how baseline obesity relates to the trajectory of amyloid burden alongside corresponding changes in blood biomarkers of Alzheimer disease. Six leading commercial tests were used to assay plasma samples from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Amyloid burden was assessed using amyloid positron emission tomography scans.The researchers found that body mass index (BMI) was not significantly associated with whole brain amyloid burden at the baseline cross-sectional level. A longitudinal analysis showed that participants with versus those without baseline obesity had a significantly greater rate of amyloid accumulation over time. BMI showed no significant correlation with ptau217 levels measured by C2N or Janssen at the baseline cross-sectional level, but had significant negative associations with measurements by Fuji, AlzPath, and the C2N ptau217 ratio. There was a negative correlation seen for BMI with Roche and QX plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) levels. Baseline obesity was not directly associated with longitudinal levels of plasma ptau217 and ptau217 ratio. Increases were seen over time for all participants, with significantly faster rates of increase for those with obesity. Baseline obesity was not consistently associated with longitudinal changes in plasma NfL levels and had no significant effect on longitudinal trajectories of plasma GFAP levels."This is the first time we've shown the relationship between obesity and Alzheimer's disease as measured by blood biomarker tests," Raji said in a statement.Press ReleaseMore Information.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

RSNA: Faster Rate of Amyloid Accumulation Seen With Obesity

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