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Cerebrospinal fluid neurogranin and YKL-40 as biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease
Janelidze S, Hertze J, Zetterberg H, Landqvist Waldö M, Santillo A, Blennow K, Hansson O.. Annals of clinical and translational neurology, 2015-11-20
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective Widespread implementation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in clinical settings requires improved accuracy for diagnosis of prodromal disease and for distinguishing AD from non-AD dementias. Novel and promising CSF biomarkers include neurogranin, a marker of synaptic degeneration, and YKL-40, a marker of neuroinflammation. Methods CSF neurogranin and YKL-40 were measured in a cohort of 338 individuals including cognitively healthy controls and patients with stable mild cognitive impairment (sMCI), MCI who later developed AD (MCI-AD), AD dementia, Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), vascular dementia (VaD), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Key findings
- Novel and promising CSF biomarkers include neurogranin, a marker of synaptic degeneration, and YKL-40, a marker of neuroinflammation.
- Methods CSF neurogranin and YKL-40 were measured in a cohort of 338 individuals including cognitively healthy controls and patients with stable mild cognitive impairment (sMCI), MCI who later developed AD (MCI-AD), AD dementia, Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), vascular dementia (VaD), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
- The diagnostic accuracy of neurogranin and YKL-40 were compared with the core AD biomarkers, β-amyloid (Aβ42 and Aβ40) and tau.
- Results Neurogranin levels were increased in AD and decreased in non-AD dementia compared with healthy controls.
Why it matters
This study measured cerebrospinal fluid neurogranin and YKL-40 in 338 people to see how well they help diagnose Alzheimer's disease and distinguish it from other dementias. It is a biomarker study for diagnosis, not a treatment, cure or prevention.
Study details
- Participants338
- Effect sizeAUC = 0.604; AUC = 0.849; AUC = 0.785
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Annals of clinical and translational neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology: journal h-index 97 (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 | 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 | 2016 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 338 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 179 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 14.9 citations a year over 12 year(s) since 2016 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 12.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 17 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 35 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Oskar Hansson: h-index 148 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26783546) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1002/acn3.266
- PubMed: 26783546
- Original source →
- Free full text: Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology →
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 names 7 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.
APA 7th
Janelidze, S., Hertze, J., Zetterberg, H., Landqvist Waldö, M., Santillo, A., Blennow, K., et al. (2016). Cerebrospinal fluid neurogranin and YKL-40 as biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. Annals of clinical and translational neurology. https://doi.org/10.1002/acn3.266
Vancouver
Janelidze S, Hertze J, Zetterberg H, Landqvist Waldö M, Santillo A, Blennow K, et al. Cerebrospinal fluid neurogranin and YKL-40 as biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. Annals of clinical and translational neurology. 2016. doi:10.1002/acn3.266. PMID: 26783546.
BibTeX
@article{janelidze2016-26783546,
author = {Janelidze, S. and Hertze, J. and Zetterberg, H. and Landqvist Waldö, M. and Santillo, A. and Blennow, K. and Hansson, O.},
title = {{Cerebrospinal fluid neurogranin and YKL-40 as biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Annals of clinical and translational neurology},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1002/acn3.266},
pmid = {26783546},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/acn3.266}
}
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