β-Amyloid burden in healthy aging: regional distribution and cognitive consequences
Rodrigue KM, Kennedy KM, Devous MD, Rieck JR, Hebrank AC, Diaz-Arrastia R, Mathews D, Park DC.. Neurology, 2012-02-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective Several lines of evidence suggest that pathologic changes underlying Alzheimer disease (AD) begin years prior to the clinical expression of the disease, underscoring the need for studies of cognitively healthy adults to capture these early changes. The overall goal of the current study was to map the cortical distribution of β-amyloid (Aβ) in a healthy adult lifespan sample (aged 30-89), and to assess the relationship between elevated amyloid and cognitive performance across multiple domains. Methods A total of 137 well-screened and cognitively normal adults underwent Aβ PET imaging with radiotracer (18)F-florbetapir. Aβ load was estimated from 8 cortical regions. Participants were genotyped for APOE and tested for processing speed, working memory, fluid reasoning, episodic memory, and verbal ability. Results Aβ deposition is distributed differentially across the cortex and progresses at varying rates with age across cortical brain regions. A subset of cognitively normal adults aged 60 and over show markedly elevated deposition, and also had a higher rate of APOE ε4 (38%) than nonelevated adults (19%). Aβ burden was linked to poorer cognitive performance on measures of processing speed, working memory, and reasoning. Conclusions Even in a highly selected lifespan sample of adults, Aβ deposition is apparent in some adults and is influenced by APOE status. Greater amyloid burden was related to deleterious effects on cognition, suggesting that subtle cognitive changes accrue as amyloid progresses.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Rodrigue, K. M., Kennedy, K. M., Devous, M. D., Rieck, JR., Hebrank, A. C., Diaz-Arrastia, R., et al. (2012). β-Amyloid burden in healthy aging: regional distribution and cognitive consequences. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e318245d295
Vancouver
Rodrigue KM, Kennedy KM, Devous MD, Rieck JR, Hebrank AC, Diaz-Arrastia R, et al. β-Amyloid burden in healthy aging: regional distribution and cognitive consequences. Neurology. 2012. doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e318245d295. PMID: 22302550.
BibTeX
@article{rodrigue2012-22302550,
author = {Rodrigue, K. M. and Kennedy, K. M. and Devous, M. D. and Rieck, JR. and Hebrank, A. C. and Diaz-Arrastia, R. and Mathews, D. and Park, D. C.},
title = {{β-Amyloid burden in healthy aging: regional distribution and cognitive consequences}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0b013e318245d295},
pmid = {22302550},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e318245d295}
}
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 names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Objective Several lines of evidence suggest that pathologic changes underlying Alzheimer disease (AD) begin years prior to the clinical expression of the disease, underscoring the need for studies of cognitively healthy adults to capture these early changes.
- The overall goal of the current study was to map the cortical distribution of β-amyloid (Aβ) in a healthy adult lifespan sample (aged 30-89), and to assess the relationship between elevated amyloid and cognitive performance across multiple domains.
- Results Aβ deposition is distributed differentially across the cortex and progresses at varying rates with age across cortical brain regions.
- A subset of cognitively normal adults aged 60 and over show markedly elevated deposition, and also had a higher rate of APOE ε4 (38%) than nonelevated adults (19%).
- Greater amyloid burden was related to deleterious effects on cognition, suggesting that subtle cognitive changes accrue as amyloid progresses.
Why it matters
In this study of cognitively normal adults, beta-amyloid deposition was found to vary across the cortex and increase with age, and higher amyloid burden was linked to poorer performance on some thinking tests. APOE epsilon 4 carriers had a higher rate of elevated amyloid.
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Study details
- Participants137
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 55 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 57 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (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 | 1 / 5 | 2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 137 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 421 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 26.3 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 24.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 20 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 61 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author D. C. Park holds only 6 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center: institution h-index 1,356 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22302550) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 55 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 55 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 57 out of 100. |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0b013e318245d295
- PubMed: 22302550
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
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