Accuracy of brain amyloid detection in clinical practice using cerebrospinal fluid β-amyloid 42: a cross-validation study against amyloid positron emission tomography
Palmqvist S, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Vestberg S, Andreasson U, Brooks DJ, Owenius R, Hägerström D et al.. JAMA neurology, 2014-10-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Results The agreement between Aβ classification with CSF Aβ42 and 18F-flutemetamol positron emission tomography was very high (κ = 0.85). Cerebrospinal fluid Aβ42 correlated significantly with Aβ deposition in all cortical regions. The highest correlations were in regions with high 18F-flutemetamol retention (eg, posterior cingulum and precuneus, r = -0.72). 18F-flutemetamol retention, but not CSF Aβ42, correlated significantly with global cognition (r = -0.32), memory function (r = -0.28), and hippocampal volume (r = -0.36) among those with abnormal Aβ deposition.
Key findings
- Results The agreement between Aβ classification with CSF Aβ42 and 18F-flutemetamol positron emission tomography was very high (κ = 0.85).
- Cerebrospinal fluid Aβ42 correlated significantly with Aβ deposition in all cortical regions.
- The highest correlations were in regions with high 18F-flutemetamol retention (eg, posterior cingulum and precuneus, r = -0.72). 18F-flutemetamol retention, but not CSF Aβ42, correlated significantly with global cognition (r = -0.32), memory function (r = -0.28), and hippocampal volume (r = -0.36) among those with abnormal Aβ deposition.
Why it matters
Spinal-fluid Aβ42 and 18F-flutemetamol amyloid PET classified people's brain amyloid status the same way most of the time (κ = 0.85), and the spinal-fluid level tracked PET amyloid in every cortical region, most strongly in the posterior cingulum and precuneus (r = −0.72). The two tests were not equivalent, though: among people with abnormal amyloid, the PET signal, but not spinal-fluid Aβ42, was associated with global cognition, memory and hippocampal volume. The record does not describe who was studied or the cutoffs used, and agreement with a scan does not show that amyloid testing diagnoses, treats or prevents Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants118
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 66/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | JAMA Neurology: journal h-index 235 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 118 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 368 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 26.3 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 24.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 58 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 51 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Oskar Hansson: h-index 148 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Imperial College London: institution h-index 1,744 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25155658) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 66 / 100 | — |
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May need a subscription Unpaywall, Europe PMC and OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 10 Oct 2026), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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.
APA 7th
Palmqvist, S., Zetterberg, H., Blennow, K., Vestberg, S., Andreasson, U., Brooks, D. J., et al. (2014). Accuracy of brain amyloid detection in clinical practice using cerebrospinal fluid β-amyloid 42: a cross-validation study against amyloid positron emission tomography. JAMA neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.1358
Vancouver
Palmqvist S, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Vestberg S, Andreasson U, Brooks DJ, et al. Accuracy of brain amyloid detection in clinical practice using cerebrospinal fluid β-amyloid 42: a cross-validation study against amyloid positron emission tomography. JAMA neurology. 2014. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.1358. PMID: 25155658.
BibTeX
@article{palmqvist2014-25155658,
author = {Palmqvist, S. and Zetterberg, H. and Blennow, K. and Vestberg, S. and Andreasson, U. and Brooks, D. J. and Owenius, R. and Hägerström, D. and others},
title = {{Accuracy of brain amyloid detection in clinical practice using cerebrospinal fluid β-amyloid 42: a cross-validation study against amyloid positron emission tomography}},
journal = {JAMA neurology},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.1358},
pmid = {25155658},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.1358}
}
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