# Tau biomarkers in late-onset psychosis

> **NIH NIH R21** · FEINSTEIN INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH · 2024 · $209,375

## Abstract

ABSTRACT/PROJECT SUMMARY
Psychotic symptoms that occur in advanced age in the absence of an acute medical condition or prominent
mood symptoms can represent the late appearance of primary psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia or
delusional disorder or can presage the appearance of a neurodegenerative condition such as Alzheimer’s
disease (AD). An episode of non-affective psychosis late in life more than doubles the risk of subsequent
neurodegenerative disease, with an average time from psychosis to AD diagnosis of 18 months. The biologic
mechanisms responsible for the increased risk of dementia in those who experience psychosis are unclear.
One hypothesis is reverse causality, in which inchoate neurodegeneration is responsible for psychotic
symptoms that emerge in the absence of traditional cognitive hallmarks of dementia. The psychosis then
heralds the inception of illness that will eventuate in cognitive decline. An increased burden of tau pathology
has been associated with psychosis in AD. In the current pilot study will utilize PI-2620, a novel tau positron
emission tomography (PET) ligand, together with single molecule array (SiMOA) peripheral fluid
immunoassays to investigate whether there is evidence of elevations in tau biomarkers in a cohort of late-onset
psychosis subjects without cognitive impairment. At the completion of this exploratory study, we will know
whether there is evidence of tau pathology from high-sensitivity biomarkers in late-onset psychosis that would
warrant a larger R01 study that would be focused on longitudinal outcomes assessing the influence of tau
biomarker positivity on the risk of conversion to dementia over time.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10793858
- **Project number:** 1R21MH135148-01
- **Recipient organization:** FEINSTEIN INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH
- **Principal Investigator:** JEREMY KOPPEL
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $209,375
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-02-01 → 2025-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10793858

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10793858, Tau biomarkers in late-onset psychosis (1R21MH135148-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10793858. Licensed CC0.

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