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61/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 61 out of 100. Long-term cohort studies

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Plain-language summary

The genetic variant rs72824905-G (minor allele) in the PLCG2 gene was previously associated with a reduced Alzheimer's disease risk (AD). The role of PLCG2 in immune system signaling suggests it may also protect against other neurodegenerative diseases and possibly associates with longevity. We studied the effect of the rs72824905-G on seven neurodegenerative diseases and longevity, using 53,627 patients, 3,516 long-lived individuals and 149,290 study-matched controls.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Low

The record lists 53,627 participants. This genetic study found that a variant in the PLCG2 gene is linked to lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia, and to longer life. It identifies a possible biological pathway but does not provide a treatment or cure.

Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

van der Lee, S. J., Conway, O. J., Jansen, I., Carrasquillo, M. M., Kleineidam, L., van den Akker, E., et al. (2019). A nonsynonymous mutation in PLCG2 reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia, and increases the likelihood of longevity. Acta neuropathologica. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-019-02026-8

Vancouver

van der Lee SJ, Conway OJ, Jansen I, Carrasquillo MM, Kleineidam L, van den Akker E, et al. A nonsynonymous mutation in PLCG2 reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia, and increases the likelihood of longevity. Acta neuropathologica. 2019. doi:10.1007/s00401-019-02026-8. PMID: 31131421.

BibTeX

@article{vanderlee2019-31131421,
  author  = {van der Lee, S. J. and Conway, O. J. and Jansen, I. and Carrasquillo, M. M. and Kleineidam, L. and van den Akker, E. and Hernández, I. and van Eijk, K. R. and others},
  title   = {{A nonsynonymous mutation in PLCG2 reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia, and increases the likelihood of longevity}},
  journal = {Acta neuropathologica},
  year    = {2019},
  doi     = {10.1007/s00401-019-02026-8},
  pmid    = {31131421},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-019-02026-8}
}

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

How to read this study

Design: our record does not state a study design, so check the methods section of the original before weighing the result.
Size: the record lists 53,627 participants. Ask whether that is enough for the question, and who they were.
Effect: the record gives no effect size, so the summary above cannot say how large any difference was.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded low. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Low means the abstract matched neither pattern. It is the default label, and it does not mean the work is poor; many sound lab and imaging papers land here. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

New to reading papers? Six questions to ask of any Alzheimer’s study · how we score.

Key findings

The role of PLCG2 in immune system signaling suggests it may also protect against other neurodegenerative diseases and possibly associates with longevity.
We studied the effect of the rs72824905-G on seven neurodegenerative diseases and longevity, using 53,627 patients, 3,516 long-lived individuals and 149,290 study-matched controls.
We replicated the association of rs72824905-G with reduced AD risk and we found an association with reduced risk of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
We did not find evidence for an effect on Parkinson's disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS) risks, despite adequate sample sizes.

Why it matters

This genetic study found that a variant in the PLCG2 gene is linked to lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia, and to longer life. It identifies a possible biological pathway but does not provide a treatment or cure.

Study details

Participants53,627
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 61/100

Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Acta neuropathologica)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	Acta Neuropathologica: journal h-index 287 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	0 / 12	No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Strength of evidence	1 / 5	Rated “low” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	2 / 5	2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	4 / 4	53,627 participants
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 121 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	13.4 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 9.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 4 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 39 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Sonja W. Scholz: h-index 57 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	3 / 3	National Institutes of Health: institution h-index 2,723 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	3 / 3	OpenAlex lists 60 institution(s) in 8 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31131421)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	61 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

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