Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities in patients with Alzheimer's disease treated with bapineuzumab: a retrospective analysis
Sperling R, Salloway S, Brooks DJ, Tampieri D, Barakos J, Fox NC, Raskind M, Sabbagh M et al.. The Lancet. Neurology, 2012-02-03
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
We used Kaplan-Meier survival analysis to examine the distribution of incident ARIA-E from the start of bapineuzumab treatment and proportional hazards regression models to assess risk factors associated with ARIA. Incident ARIA-H occurred in 17 of the patients with ARIA-E (47%), compared with seven of 177 (4%) patients without ARIA-E. 13 of the 15 patients in whom ARIA were detected in our study received additional treatment infusions while ARIA-E were present, without any associated symptoms. The increased risk of ARIA among APOE ɛ4 carriers, its association with high bapineuzumab dose, and its timecourse in relation to dosing suggest an association between ARIA and alterations in vascular amyloid burden.
Key findings
- We used Kaplan-Meier survival analysis to examine the distribution of incident ARIA-E from the start of bapineuzumab treatment and proportional hazards regression models to assess risk factors associated with ARIA.
- Incident ARIA-H occurred in 17 of the patients with ARIA-E (47%), compared with seven of 177 (4%) patients without ARIA-E. 13 of the 15 patients in whom ARIA were detected in our study received additional treatment infusions while ARIA-E were present, without any associated symptoms.
- The increased risk of ARIA among APOE ɛ4 carriers, its association with high bapineuzumab dose, and its timecourse in relation to dosing suggest an association between ARIA and alterations in vascular amyloid burden.
Why it matters
This retrospective analysis looked at amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA), a brain-scan side effect, in people with Alzheimer's disease treated with the antibody bapineuzumab. New ARIA-H appeared in 17 patients with ARIA-E (47%) compared with 7 of 177 (4%) without it, and ARIA risk was higher in APOE ɛ4 carriers and at high doses. The authors say this "suggest[s] an association" with changes in amyloid in blood vessels; the record gives no effect sizes for these risk factors, and its note that 13 of 15 patients had more infusions during ARIA-E "without any associated symptoms" does not show that ARIA is harmless.
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Study details
- Study designclinical trial
- Participants262
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 62/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The Lancet. Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | The Lancet Neurology: journal h-index 457 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | Design recorded as “clinical trial”, which our rubric does not rank (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 | 262 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 513 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 32.1 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 26.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 50 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 118 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Michael Grundman: h-index 59 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 14 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22305802) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 62 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/s1474-4422(12)70015-7
- PubMed: 22305802
- 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).
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
Sperling, R., Salloway, S., Brooks, D. J., Tampieri, D., Barakos, J., Fox, N. C., et al. (2012). Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities in patients with Alzheimer's disease treated with bapineuzumab: a retrospective analysis. The Lancet. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(12)70015-7
Vancouver
Sperling R, Salloway S, Brooks DJ, Tampieri D, Barakos J, Fox NC, et al. Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities in patients with Alzheimer's disease treated with bapineuzumab: a retrospective analysis. The Lancet. Neurology. 2012. doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(12)70015-7. PMID: 22305802.
BibTeX
@article{sperling2012-22305802,
author = {Sperling, R. and Salloway, S. and Brooks, D. J. and Tampieri, D. and Barakos, J. and Fox, N. C. and Raskind, M. and Sabbagh, M. and others},
title = {{Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities in patients with Alzheimer's disease treated with bapineuzumab: a retrospective analysis}},
journal = {The Lancet. Neurology},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1016/s1474-4422(12)70015-7},
pmid = {22305802},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(12)70015-7}
}
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