The research interest in tau rose sharply after 1985 when tau was identified as a primary constituent of the neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patient’s brain19–22, as well as other neurodegenerative diseases, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)23,24, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and Pick’s disease (PiD)25. This evidence concerns the gene MAPT and frontotemporal dementia.