Investigating Genotypic Definitions of Tau Trajectory Subtypes in Alzheimer’s Disease using Tree-Based Models

Anonymous

Abstract: As life expectancies increase, dementia and neurodegenerative diseases affect increasing portions of the population. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in particular has shown increasing variation in disease progression which suggests subtyping as an avenue for improving understanding and treatment of the condition. Recent research in neuroimaging has revealed distinct phenotypes of AD but a genetic explanation of these subtypes has yet to be uncovered. To that end we attempt to classify these subtypes from SNPs. Multiple tree-based models demonstrate that we found no correlation between tau trajectories and clinically SNPs in a small sample of ADNI patients. Beyond the possible confounds of small sample size, our results are also consistent with the lack of previous studies that implicate SNPs in tau pathology. Based on our discoveries, we include multiple suggestions for future studies into tau-disposition of AD as well as suggestions for linking SNP data to other kinds of phenotypic subtypes of AD.