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Current state of Alzheimer's fluid biomarkers
Molinuevo JL, Ayton S, Batrla R, Bednar MM, Bittner T, Cummings J, Fagan AM, Hampel H et al.. Acta neuropathologica, 2018-11-28
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with a complex and heterogeneous pathophysiology. The number of people living with AD is predicted to increase; however, there are no disease-modifying therapies currently available and none have been successful in late-stage clinical trials. Fluid biomarkers measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or blood hold promise for enabling more effective drug development and establishing a more personalized medicine approach for AD diagnosis and treatment.
Key findings
- The number of people living with AD is predicted to increase; however, there are no disease-modifying therapies currently available and none have been successful in late-stage clinical trials.
- Fluid biomarkers measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or blood hold promise for enabling more effective drug development and establishing a more personalized medicine approach for AD diagnosis and treatment.
- Biomarkers used in drug development programmes should be qualified for a specific context of use (COU).
- These COUs include, but are not limited to, subject/patient selection, assessment of disease state and/or prognosis, assessment of mechanism of action, dose optimization, drug response monitoring, efficacy maximization, and toxicity/adverse reactions identification and minimization.
Why it matters
This 2018 review argues that biomarkers measured in spinal fluid or blood "hold promise" for better Alzheimer's drug development and more personalized diagnosis and treatment. Its recommendation is that each biomarker used in drug development "should be qualified for a specific context of use", for example selecting trial participants, judging prognosis, choosing a dose or monitoring drug response. It presents no new data, and its statement that no disease-modifying therapy was available reflects the situation in 2018.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 62/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Acta neuropathologica) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Acta Neuropathologica: journal h-index 287 (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 | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 515 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 51.5 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 38.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 38 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 127 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Kaj Blennow: h-index 220 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique: institution h-index 2,511 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 35 institution(s) in 9 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30488277) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 62 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1007/s00401-018-1932-x
- PubMed: 30488277
- Original source →
- Free full text: Acta Neuropathologica →
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's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Molinuevo, J. L., Ayton, S., Batrla, R., Bednar, M. M., Bittner, T., Cummings, J., et al. (2018). Current state of Alzheimer's fluid biomarkers. Acta neuropathologica. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-018-1932-x
Vancouver
Molinuevo JL, Ayton S, Batrla R, Bednar MM, Bittner T, Cummings J, et al. Current state of Alzheimer's fluid biomarkers. Acta neuropathologica. 2018. doi:10.1007/s00401-018-1932-x. PMID: 30488277.
BibTeX
@article{molinuevo2018-30488277,
author = {Molinuevo, J. L. and Ayton, S. and Batrla, R. and Bednar, M. M. and Bittner, T. and Cummings, J. and Fagan, A. M. and Hampel, H. and others},
title = {{Current state of Alzheimer's fluid biomarkers}},
journal = {Acta neuropathologica},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1007/s00401-018-1932-x},
pmid = {30488277},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-018-1932-x}
}
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