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Characterization and clinical use of inflammatory cerebrospinal fluid protein markers in Alzheimer's disease
Brosseron F, Traschütz A, Widmann CN, Kummer MP, Tacik P, Santarelli F, Jessen F, Heneka MT.. Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2018-02-26
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background Neuroinflammation has gained increasing attention as a potential contributing factor in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. A clinical cerebrospinal fluid biomarker capable of monitoring this process during the course of the disease has yet to emerge, chiefly owing to contradictory research findings. In this study, we sought to clarify the utility of inflammatory biomarkers in diagnostic procedures of AD in three steps: (1) to screen for proteins that are robustly detectable in cerebrospinal fluid; (2) based on this analysis, to explore any associations between the analytically robust markers and salient pathological features of AD; and (3) to determine the discriminative power of these markers in the clinical diagnosis of AD.
Key findings
- A clinical cerebrospinal fluid biomarker capable of monitoring this process during the course of the disease has yet to emerge, chiefly owing to contradictory research findings.
- In this study, we sought to clarify the utility of inflammatory biomarkers in diagnostic procedures of AD in three steps: (1) to screen for proteins that are robustly detectable in cerebrospinal fluid; (2) based on this analysis, to explore any associations between the analytically robust markers and salient pathological features of AD; and (3) to determine the discriminative power of these markers in the clinical diagnosis of AD.
- Methods From a total of 46 proteins, 15 that were robustly detectable in cerebrospinal fluid were identified.
- A subsequent analysis of these markers in a cohort of 399 patients (nondemented subjects, patients with mild cognitive impairment [MCI], and patients with AD, supplemented by smaller cohorts of other diseases) was conducted.
Why it matters
This study set out to test whether inflammatory proteins in cerebrospinal fluid could be useful for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease, noting that no such clinical biomarker has yet emerged. It screened for detectable proteins and examined their links to disease features and diagnostic accuracy, but the available text does not report a clear conclusion.
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Study details
- Participants399
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 55/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer's research & therapy) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Alzheimer s Research & Therapy: journal h-index 146 (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 | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 399 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 113 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 11.3 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 10.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 14 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 31 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Michael Thomas Heneka: h-index 113 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Bonn: institution h-index 1,072 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 29482610) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 55 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1186/s13195-018-0353-3
- PubMed: 29482610
- Original source →
- Free full text: Alzheimer s Research & Therapy →
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 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.
APA 7th
Brosseron, F., Traschütz, A., Widmann, C. N., Kummer, M. P., Tacik, P., Santarelli, F., et al. (2018). Characterization and clinical use of inflammatory cerebrospinal fluid protein markers in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's research & therapy. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-018-0353-3
Vancouver
Brosseron F, Traschütz A, Widmann CN, Kummer MP, Tacik P, Santarelli F, et al. Characterization and clinical use of inflammatory cerebrospinal fluid protein markers in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's research & therapy. 2018. doi:10.1186/s13195-018-0353-3. PMID: 29482610.
BibTeX
@article{brosseron2018-29482610,
author = {Brosseron, F. and Traschütz, A. and Widmann, C. N. and Kummer, M. P. and Tacik, P. and Santarelli, F. and Jessen, F. and Heneka, M. T.},
title = {{Characterization and clinical use of inflammatory cerebrospinal fluid protein markers in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Alzheimer's research \& therapy},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1186/s13195-018-0353-3},
pmid = {29482610},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-018-0353-3}
}
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