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Blood biomarkers in mild cognitive impairment patients: Relationship between analytes and progression to Alzheimer disease dementia
Silva-Spínola A, Lima M, Leitão MJ, Bernardes C, Durães J, Duro D, Tábuas-Pereira M, Santana I et al.. European journal of neurology, 2023-03-20
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background and purpose Blood-based biomarkers are promising tools for the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) at prodromal stages (mild cognitive impairment [MCI]) and are hoped to be implemented as screening tools for patients with cognitive complaints. In this work, we evaluated the potential of peripheral neurological biomarkers to predict progression to AD dementia and the relation between blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD markers in MCI patients referred from a general neurological department. Methods A group of 106 MCI patients followed at the Neurology Department of Coimbra University Hospital was included. Data regarding baseline neuropsychological evaluation, CSF levels of amyloid β 42 (Aβ42), Aβ40, total tau (t-Tau), and phosphorylated tau 181 (p-Tau181) were available for all the patients. Aβ42, Aβ40, t-Tau, p-Tau181, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels were determined in baseline stored serum and plasma samples by commercial SiMoA (Single Molecule Array) assays. Progression from MCI to AD dementia was assessed at follow-up (mean = 5.8 ± 3.4 years). Results At baseline, blood markers NfL, GFAP, and p-Tau181 were significantly increased in patients who progressed to AD at follow-up (p Conclusions Our findings highlight the potential of combining blood-based GFAP, NfL, and p-Tau181 to be applied as a prognostic tool in MCI.
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APA 7th
Silva-Spínola, A., Lima, M., Leitão, M. J., Bernardes, C., Durães, J., Duro, D., et al. (2023). Blood biomarkers in mild cognitive impairment patients: Relationship between analytes and progression to Alzheimer disease dementia. European journal of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.15762
Vancouver
Silva-Spínola A, Lima M, Leitão MJ, Bernardes C, Durães J, Duro D, et al. Blood biomarkers in mild cognitive impairment patients: Relationship between analytes and progression to Alzheimer disease dementia. European journal of neurology. 2023. doi:10.1111/ene.15762. PMID: 36880887.
BibTeX
@article{silvaspinola2023-36880887,
author = {Silva-Spínola, A. and Lima, M. and Leitão, M. J. and Bernardes, C. and Durães, J. and Duro, D. and Tábuas-Pereira, M. and Santana, I. and others},
title = {{Blood biomarkers in mild cognitive impairment patients: Relationship between analytes and progression to Alzheimer disease dementia}},
journal = {European journal of neurology},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1111/ene.15762},
pmid = {36880887},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.15762}
}
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Key findings
- Results At baseline, blood markers NfL, GFAP, and p-Tau181 were significantly increased in patients who progressed to AD at follow-up (p Conclusions Our findings highlight the potential of combining blood-based GFAP, NfL, and p-Tau181 to be applied as a prognostic tool in MCI.
Why it matters
In 106 patients with mild cognitive impairment, higher blood levels of NfL, GFAP, and p-Tau181 at the start were linked to later progression to Alzheimer's dementia. The authors suggest combining these blood markers could help predict who will progress, but this was a single-center observational study.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (European journal of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | European Journal of Neurology: journal h-index 181 (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 | 3 / 5 | 2023 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 34 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 6.8 citations a year over 5 year(s) since 2023 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 5 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 29 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Inês Baldeiras: h-index 36 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | University of Coimbra: institution h-index 515 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 36880887) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
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