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A team of researchers from the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) has shown that the speed at which abnormal tau protein accumulates in the brains of people with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is closely linked to how quickly their symptoms worsen. The discovery could help researchers objectively measure disease progression and accelerate the development of treatments for this rare neurological disorder. This study was published in Movement Disorders on Sept. 4, 2026.

PSP is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that typically develops in middle-aged and older adults. Patients experience increasing difficulty with balance, motor function, eye movements and cognition. Although abnormal accumulation of tau protein is known to be a hallmark of the disease, scientists have long struggled to determine how changes in tau over time relate to the worsening of symptoms in living patients.

To address this challenge, the researchers used florzolotau (18F) ([¹⁸F]PM-PBB3), a highly sensitive tau PET tracer developed by QST, to follow 26 people with PSP and 10 healthy volunteers over approximately one year. By comparing PET scans taken at two time points, the team examined how tau accumulation changed throughout the brain and whether those changes were associated with clinical decline.

The study revealed that tau accumulation increased over time in several brain regions affected by PSP, including the basal ganglia, frontal and parietal cortices, and the cerebellum.

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