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Aerobic exercise does not affect serum neurofilament light in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease
Frederiksen KS, Jensen CS, Høgh P, Gergelyffy R, Waldemar G, Andersen BB, Gottrup H, Vestergaard K et al.. Frontiers in neuroscience, 2023-01-24
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Introduction Aerobic exercise has been shown to modify Alzheimer pathology in animal models, and in patients with multiple sclerosis to reduce neurofilament light (NfL), a biomarker of neurodegeneration. Objective To investigate whether a 16-week aerobic exercise program was able to reduce serum NfL in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods This is a secondary analysis of data from the multi-center Preserving Cognition, Quality of Life, Physical Health, and Functional Ability in Alzheimer's disease: The Effect of Physical Exercise (ADEX) study. Participants were randomized to 16 weeks of moderate intensity aerobic exercise or usual care. Clinical assessment and measurement of serum NfL was done at baseline and after the intervention. Results A total of 136 participants were included in the analysis. Groups were comparable at baseline except for APOE ε 4 carriership which was higher in the usual care group (75.3 versus 60.2%; p = 0.04). There was no effect of the intervention on serum NfL [intervention: baseline NfL (pg/mL) 25.76, change from baseline 0.87; usual care: baseline 27.09, change from baseline -1.16, p = 0.09]. Conclusion The findings do not support an effect of the exercise intervention on a single measure of neurodegeneration in AD. Further studies are needed using other types and durations of exercise and other measures of neurodegeneration. Clinical trial registration clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT01681602.
Key findings
- Results A total of 136 participants were included in the analysis.
- Groups were comparable at baseline except for APOE ε 4 carriership which was higher in the usual care group (75.3 versus 60.2%; p = 0.04).
Why it matters
In 136 patients with mild Alzheimer's disease, a 16-week aerobic exercise program did not reduce serum neurofilament light compared with usual care. The study found no effect of this exercise intervention on this single measure of neurodegeneration.
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Study details
- Participants136
- Effect size60.2%
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 55/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in neuroscience) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Frontiers in Neuroscience: journal h-index 226 (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 | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2023 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 136 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 18 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.6 citations a year over 5 year(s) since 2023 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 16 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Anja Hviid Simonsen: h-index 35 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Copenhagen: institution h-index 1,378 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 9 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 36761410) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 55 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1108191
- PubMed: 36761410
- Original source →
- Free full text: Frontiers in Neuroscience →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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
Frederiksen, K. S., Jensen, C. S., Høgh, P., Gergelyffy, R., Waldemar, G., Andersen, B. B., et al. (2023). Aerobic exercise does not affect serum neurofilament light in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. Frontiers in neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2023.1108191
Vancouver
Frederiksen KS, Jensen CS, Høgh P, Gergelyffy R, Waldemar G, Andersen BB, et al. Aerobic exercise does not affect serum neurofilament light in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. Frontiers in neuroscience. 2023. doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1108191. PMID: 36761410.
BibTeX
@article{frederiksen2023-36761410,
author = {Frederiksen, K. S. and Jensen, C. S. and Høgh, P. and Gergelyffy, R. and Waldemar, G. and Andersen, B. B. and Gottrup, H. and Vestergaard, K. and others},
title = {{Aerobic exercise does not affect serum neurofilament light in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Frontiers in neuroscience},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3389/fnins.2023.1108191},
pmid = {36761410},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2023.1108191}
}
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