TY - JOUR Y1 - 2021/02/02/ KW - Alzheimer?s disease KW - biomarkers KW - cerebrospinal fluid KW - executive function KW - memory IS - 3 ID - discovery10120636 SP - 1297 A1 - Driscoll, I A1 - Ma, Y A1 - Gallagher, CL A1 - Johnson, SC A1 - Asthana, S A1 - Hermann, BP A1 - Sager, MA A1 - Blennow, K A1 - Zetterberg, H A1 - Carlsson, CM A1 - Engelman, CD A1 - Dubal, DB A1 - Okonkwo, OC TI - Age-Related Tau Burden and Cognitive Deficits Are Attenuated in KLOTHO KL-VS Heterozygotes N1 - This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher?s terms and conditions. UR - https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-200944 N2 - Background: Identification of new genetic variants that modify Alzheimer?s disease (AD) risk will elucidate novel targets for curbing the disease progression or delaying symptom onset. Objective: To examine whether the functionally advantageous KLOTHO gene KL-VS variant attenuates age-related alteration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers or cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults enriched for AD risk. Methods: Sample included non-demented adults (N?=?225, mean age?=?63ą8, 68% women) from the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer?s Prevention and the Wisconsin Alzheimer?s Disease Research Center who were genotyped for KL-VS, underwent CSF sampling and had neuropsychological testing data available proximal to CSF draw. Covariate-adjusted multivariate regression examined relationships between age group (Younger versus Older; mean split at 63 years), AD biomarkers, and neuropsychological performance tapping memory and executive function, and whether these relationships differed between KL-VS non-carriers (KL-VSNC) and heterozygote (KL-VSHET). Results: In the pooled analyses, older age was associated with higher levels of total tau (tTau), phosphorylated tau (pTau), and their respective ratios to amyloid-? (A?)42 (ps ? 0.002), and with poorer performance on neuropsychological tests (ps ? 0.001). In the stratified analyses, KL-VSNC exhibited this age-related pattern of associations with CSF biomarkers (all ps ? 0.001), and memory and executive function (ps ? 0.003), which were attenuated in KL-VSHET (ps ? 0.14). Conclusion: Worse memory and executive function, and higher tau burden with age were attenuated in carriers of a functionally advantageous KLOTHO variant. KL-VS heterozygosity seems to be protective against age-related cognitive and biomolecular alterations that confer risk for AD. VL - 79 EP - 1305 JF - Journal of Alzheimer's Disease AV - public ER -