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58/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 58 out of 100. TREM2 and immune genetics

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Plain-language summary

Background Recent studies have suggested that the potential functional polymorphism R47H in triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) is associated with several neurodegenerative diseases, however, the results remain inconclusive. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the association between TREM2 R47H and the risk for 3 typical neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer disease (AD), Parkinson disease (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods A literature review was carried out using PubMed, Medline, and Embase. Data analysis was conducted using Stata 15.0 software. The pooled odds ratio (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CIs) were calculated. Results A total of 35 articles were identified as eligible: 22 on AD, 3 on ALS, 7 on PD, 2 on AD and ALS, and 1 on ALS and PD. The AD set included 23,092 cases and 30,920 controls, the ALS set included 7391 cases and 12,442 controls, and the PD set included 8498 patients and 9161 controls. We found that R47H was associated with an increased risk of AD in the total pooled population (P Conclusion Our study suggested that R47H in the TREM2 gene leads to an increased risk for developing AD, but not for ALS and PD, which adds evidence to the notion that diverse pathogenesis may be involved in different neurogenerative diseases.

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

APA 7th

Zhang, B., Li, R., Zhang, Y., & Gao, X. (2020). Differential role of triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells 2 R47H in 3 neurodegenerative diseases based on a systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000018921

Vancouver

Zhang B, Li R, Zhang Y, Gao X. Differential role of triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells 2 R47H in 3 neurodegenerative diseases based on a systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine. 2020. doi:10.1097/md.0000000000018921. PMID: 32000403.

BibTeX

@article{zhang2020-32000403,
  author  = {Zhang, B. and Li, R. and Zhang, Y. and Gao, X.},
  title   = {{Differential role of triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells 2 R47H in 3 neurodegenerative diseases based on a systematic review and meta-analysis}},
  journal = {Medicine},
  year    = {2020},
  doi     = {10.1097/md.0000000000018921},
  pmid    = {32000403},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000018921}
}

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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 23,092 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

Background Recent studies have suggested that the potential functional polymorphism R47H in triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) is associated with several neurodegenerative diseases, however, the results remain inconclusive.
Results A total of 35 articles were identified as eligible: 22 on AD, 3 on ALS, 7 on PD, 2 on AD and ALS, and 1 on ALS and PD.
We found that R47H was associated with an increased risk of AD in the total pooled population (P < .001, OR = 4.02, 95% CI = 3.15-5.13).

Why it matters

Pooling 35 studies, this meta-analysis found that the R47H variant of the TREM2 gene was associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer's, but not of ALS or Parkinson's disease. The authors suggest this points to different disease processes behind different neurodegenerative conditions, helping place TREM2 specifically within Alzheimer's biology.

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Study details

Study designmeta-analysis
Participants23,092
Evidence strengthHigh

How this study scored 58/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Medicine)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	Medicine: journal h-index 285 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	12 / 12	A meta-analysis pooling many studies
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	2 / 5	2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	4 / 4	23,092 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 20 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	1 / 5	2.5 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020
Impact for its field and year	1 / 6	Cited 0.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	1 / 6	Cited by 1 other studies in this library
Still being cited	0 / 4	Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	2 / 4	Last-listed author Xia Gao: h-index 42 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	0 / 3	Dazhou Central Hospital: institution h-index 50 (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 32000403)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	58 / 100	—

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