18F‐MK‐6240 Tau PET as a Biomarker for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: Case Series of 10 Symptomatic Former National Football League Players

The pathognomonic lesion of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is the perivascular deposition of neuronal phosphorylated tau (p‐tau). Patchy p‐tau deposits initially accumulate in frontotemporal cortices. Medial temporal lobes (MTL) become involved in late stage. Validated in vivo biomarkers for CTE p‐tau do not exist. 18F‐MK‐6240 is a second‐generation tau PET ligand with improved imaging properties compared with first‐generation ligands, but its utility in CTE is unknown. We report initial results from an ongoing proof‐of‐concept study investigating MK‐6240 in people at risk for CTE.