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68/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 68 out of 100. Brain tissue and pathology

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Plain-language summary

Objective To examine the relation of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) to cognitive domains in older community-dwelling persons with and without dementia. Methods Subjects were 404 persons in the Religious Orders Study, a cohort study of aging, who underwent annual clinical evaluations, including 19 neuropsychological tests from which 5 cognitive domain and global summary scores were derived, and brain autopsy at time-of-death (mean age-at-death 86). Using amyloid-β immunostaining, CAA severity was graded in 5 regions (midfrontal, inferior temporal, angular, calcarine, and hippocampal cortices), as 0 = none, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe, and 4 = very severe.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Moderate

This is a follow-up (cohort) study of 404 participants. This cohort study of 404 older persons examined how the severity of cerebral amyloid angiopathy relates to cognitive domains. Reported effect size: 84.9%.

Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Arvanitakis, Z., Leurgans, S. E., Wang, Z., Wilson, R. S., Bennett, D. A., & Schneider, J. A. (2011). Cerebral amyloid angiopathy pathology and cognitive domains in older persons. Annals of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.22112

Vancouver

Arvanitakis Z, Leurgans SE, Wang Z, Wilson RS, Bennett DA, Schneider JA. Cerebral amyloid angiopathy pathology and cognitive domains in older persons. Annals of neurology. 2011. doi:10.1002/ana.22112. PMID: 21387377.

BibTeX

@article{arvanitakis2011-21387377,
  author  = {Arvanitakis, Z. and Leurgans, S. E. and Wang, Z. and Wilson, R. S. and Bennett, D. A. and Schneider, J. A.},
  title   = {{Cerebral amyloid angiopathy pathology and cognitive domains in older persons}},
  journal = {Annals of neurology},
  year    = {2011},
  doi     = {10.1002/ana.22112},
  pmid    = {21387377},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.22112}
}

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How to read this study

Design: this is a follow-up (cohort) study. People are observed over time and not assigned to anything, so an association can reflect other differences between groups. Look at how long follow-up lasted, how many dropped out, and whether the authors adjusted for age, education and other health conditions.
Size: the record lists 404 participants. Ask whether that is enough for the question, and who they were.
Effect: the record reports “84.9%”. A statistically significant result can still be small in daily life.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded moderate. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Moderate means the abstract mentions a cohort, case-control or longitudinal design. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

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Key findings

Methods Subjects were 404 persons in the Religious Orders Study, a cohort study of aging, who underwent annual clinical evaluations, including 19 neuropsychological tests from which 5 cognitive domain and global summary scores were derived, and brain autopsy at time-of-death (mean age-at-death 86).
Using amyloid-β immunostaining, CAA severity was graded in 5 regions (midfrontal, inferior temporal, angular, calcarine, and hippocampal cortices), as 0 = none, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe, and 4 = very severe.
Because severity was related across regions (all r(s) > 0.63), and almost all persons had some CAA, we averaged regional CAA scores and created class variable predictors for no-to-minimal ( 2.5).
Results CAA was very common (84.9%; 94 had no-to-minimal, 233 mild-to-moderate, and 76 moderate-to-very severe disease) and was related to AD pathology (r(s) = 0.68).

Why it matters

This cohort study of 404 older persons examined how the severity of cerebral amyloid angiopathy relates to cognitive domains. It describes an association between a vascular pathology and cognition and does not test a treatment, cure, or prevention.

Study details

Study designcohort study
Participants404
Effect size84.9%
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 68/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Annals of neurology)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	Annals of Neurology: journal h-index 437 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	7 / 12	A cohort study following people over 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	2011 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	2 / 4	404 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)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	6 / 7	Cited 384 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	4 / 5	22.6 citations a year over 17 year(s) since 2011
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 8.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	4 / 6	Cited by 32 other studies in this library
Still being cited	3 / 4	Cited 66 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Julie A. Schneider: h-index 151 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	0 / 3	Rush University Medical Center: institution h-index 670 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21387377)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	68 / 100	—

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