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57/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 57 out of 100. Inflammation and the immune system

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Plain-language summary

Purpose of review Over 70 million people worldwide, including those with neurodegenerative disease (NDD), have been diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to date. We review outcomes in patients with NDD and COVID-19 and discuss the hypothesis that due to putative commonalities of neuropathogenesis, COVID-19 may unmask or trigger NDD in vulnerable individuals. Recent findings Based on a systematic review of published literature, patients with NDD, including dementia, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS) make up a significant portion of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Such patients are likely to present with altered mental status or worsening of their preexisting neurological symptoms. Patients with NDD and poor outcomes often have high-risk comorbid conditions, including advanced age, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and heart/lung disease. Patients with dementia including Alzheimer's disease are at higher risk for hospitalization and death, whereas those with preexisting Parkinson's disease are not. MS patients have good outcomes and disease modifying therapies do not increase the risk for severe disease. Viral infections and attendant neuroinflammation have been associated with the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and MS, suggesting that COVID-19 may have the potential to incite or accelerate neurodegeneration. Summary Since patients with Alzheimer's disease are at higher risk for hospitalization and death in the setting of COVID-19, additional precautions and protective measures should be put in place to prevent infections and optimize management of comorbidities in this vulnerable population. Further studies are needed to determine whether COVID-19 may lead to an increased risk of developing NDD in susceptible individuals.

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

APA 7th

McAlpine, L. S., Fesharaki-Zadeh, A., & Spudich, S. (2021). Coronavirus disease 2019 and neurodegenerative disease: what will the future bring? Current opinion in psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1097/yco.0000000000000688

Vancouver

McAlpine LS, Fesharaki-Zadeh A, Spudich S. Coronavirus disease 2019 and neurodegenerative disease: what will the future bring? Current opinion in psychiatry. 2021. doi:10.1097/yco.0000000000000688. PMID: 33395100.

BibTeX

@article{mcalpine2021-33395100,
  author  = {McAlpine, L. S. and Fesharaki-Zadeh, A. and Spudich, S.},
  title   = {{Coronavirus disease 2019 and neurodegenerative disease: what will the future bring?}},
  journal = {Current opinion in psychiatry},
  year    = {2021},
  doi     = {10.1097/yco.0000000000000688},
  pmid    = {33395100},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1097/yco.0000000000000688}
}

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How to read this study

Design: this is a pooled review. It combines earlier studies, so it is only as good as the studies it pools. Check how many were included, whether they were similar enough to combine, and whether the authors report inconsistency between them.
Size: the record lists 19 participants. Ask whether that is enough for the question, and who they were.
Effect: the record gives no effect size, so the summary above cannot say how large any difference was.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded high. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. High means the abstract mentions a randomized design, a meta-analysis or a systematic review. 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

Recent findings Based on a systematic review of published literature, patients with NDD, including dementia, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS) make up a significant portion of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Patients with dementia including Alzheimer's disease are at higher risk for hospitalization and death, whereas those with preexisting Parkinson's disease are not.
Viral infections and attendant neuroinflammation have been associated with the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and MS, suggesting that COVID-19 may have the potential to incite or accelerate neurodegeneration.
Summary Since patients with Alzheimer's disease are at higher risk for hospitalization and death in the setting of COVID-19, additional precautions and protective measures should be put in place to prevent infections and optimize management of comorbidities in this vulnerable population.
Further studies are needed to determine whether COVID-19 may lead to an increased risk of developing NDD in susceptible individuals.

Why it matters

This review of published studies reports that people with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, are at higher risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19, while those with Parkinson's disease are not. The authors urge extra precautions to prevent infection and manage other health conditions in people with Alzheimer's, and say more research is needed on whether COVID-19 could raise the risk of developing neurodegenerative disease.

Study details

Study designsystematic review
Participants19
Evidence strengthHigh

How this study scored 57/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a systematic review of all the studies on the question. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Current opinion in psychiatry)
Journal's citation record	1 / 4	Current Opinion in Psychiatry: journal h-index 141 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	12 / 12	A systematic review of all the studies on the question
Strength of evidence	5 / 5	Rated “high” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	3 / 5	2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	1 / 4	19 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)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	A review of other studies — randomization is not credited here
Times cited	3 / 7	Cited 34 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	4.9 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021
Impact for its field and year	2 / 6	Cited 2.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	0 / 6	No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 5 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Serena Spudich: h-index 58 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Yale University: institution h-index 1,927 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	0 / 3	OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete)
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 33395100)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	57 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

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