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61/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 61 out of 100. Tau biomarkers

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Plain-language summary

Importance Synaptic loss is an early pathologic substrate of Alzheimer disease (AD). Neurogranin is a postsynaptic neuronal protein that has demonstrated utility as a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) marker of synaptic loss in AD. Objective To investigate the diagnostic and prognostic utility of CSF neurogranin levels in a large, well-characterized cohort of individuals with symptomatic AD and cognitively normal controls.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Moderate

This is a cross-sectional study of 38 participants. This cross-sectional and longitudinal observational study investigated whether cerebrospinal fluid neurogranin, a marker of synaptic loss, could help diagnose and predict Alzheimer disease. It is about a marker of disease, not about treating, curing, or preventing it.

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

Tarawneh, R., D'Angelo, G., Crimmins, D., Herries, E., Griest, T., Fagan, A. M., et al. (2016). Diagnostic and Prognostic Utility of the Synaptic Marker Neurogranin in Alzheimer Disease. JAMA neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2016.0086

Vancouver

Tarawneh R, D'Angelo G, Crimmins D, Herries E, Griest T, Fagan AM, et al. Diagnostic and Prognostic Utility of the Synaptic Marker Neurogranin in Alzheimer Disease. JAMA neurology. 2016. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2016.0086. PMID: 27018940.

BibTeX

@article{tarawneh2016-27018940,
  author  = {Tarawneh, R. and D'Angelo, G. and Crimmins, D. and Herries, E. and Griest, T. and Fagan, A. M. and Zipfel, G. J. and Ladenson, J. H. and others},
  title   = {{Diagnostic and Prognostic Utility of the Synaptic Marker Neurogranin in Alzheimer Disease}},
  journal = {JAMA neurology},
  year    = {2016},
  doi     = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2016.0086},
  pmid    = {27018940},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2016.0086}
}

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.

How to read this study

Design: this is a cross-sectional study. Everyone is measured once, so it cannot show which came first. Read it as a snapshot of how two things go together at one moment.
Size: the record lists 38 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 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

Neurogranin is a postsynaptic neuronal protein that has demonstrated utility as a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) marker of synaptic loss in AD.
Objective To investigate the diagnostic and prognostic utility of CSF neurogranin levels in a large, well-characterized cohort of individuals with symptomatic AD and cognitively normal controls.
Design, setting, and participants A cross-sectional and longitudinal observational study of cognitive decline in patients with symptomatic AD and cognitively normal controls was performed.
Participants were individuals with a clinical diagnosis of early symptomatic AD and cognitively normal controls who were enrolled in longitudinal studies of aging and dementia at the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, from January 21, 2000, through March 21, 2011.

Why it matters

This cross-sectional and longitudinal observational study investigated whether cerebrospinal fluid neurogranin, a marker of synaptic loss, could help diagnose and predict Alzheimer disease. It is about a marker of disease, not about treating, curing, or preventing it.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Blood tests & biomarkers →

Study details

Study designcross-sectional
Participants38
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 61/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA neurology)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	JAMA Neurology: journal h-index 235 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	4 / 12	A snapshot of people at one point in 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	2016 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	1 / 4	38 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	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 216 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	18.0 citations a year over 12 year(s) since 2016
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 15.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	3 / 6	Cited by 21 other studies in this library
Still being cited	3 / 4	Cited 56 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author David M. Holtzman: h-index 206 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Washington University in St. Louis: institution h-index 1,962 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 27018940)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	61 / 100	—

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

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