This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

43/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 43 out of 100. Long-term cohort studies

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

A significant portion of our risk for dementia in old age is associated with lifestyle factors (diet, exercise, and cardiovascular health) that are modifiable, at least in principle. One such risk factor, high-homocysteine levels in the blood, is known to increase risk for Alzheimer's disease and vascular disorders. Here, we set out to understand how homocysteine levels relate to 3D surface-based maps of cortical gray matter distribution (thickness, volume, and surface area) computed from brain magnetic resonance imaging in 803 elderly subjects from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative data set.

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

APA 7th

Madsen, S. K., Rajagopalan, P., Joshi, S. H., Toga, A. W., & Thompson, P. M. (2015). Higher homocysteine associated with thinner cortical gray matter in 803 participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Neurobiology of aging. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.01.154

Vancouver

Madsen SK, Rajagopalan P, Joshi SH, Toga AW, Thompson PM. Higher homocysteine associated with thinner cortical gray matter in 803 participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Neurobiology of aging. 2015. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.01.154. PMID: 25444607.

BibTeX

@article{madsen2015-25444607,
  author  = {Madsen, S. K. and Rajagopalan, P. and Joshi, S. H. and Toga, A. W. and Thompson, P. M.},
  title   = {{Higher homocysteine associated with thinner cortical gray matter in 803 participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative}},
  journal = {Neurobiology of aging},
  year    = {2015},
  doi     = {10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.01.154},
  pmid    = {25444607},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.01.154}
}

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

Key findings

One such risk factor, high-homocysteine levels in the blood, is known to increase risk for Alzheimer's disease and vascular disorders.
Here, we set out to understand how homocysteine levels relate to 3D surface-based maps of cortical gray matter distribution (thickness, volume, and surface area) computed from brain magnetic resonance imaging in 803 elderly subjects from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative data set.
Individuals with higher plasma levels of homocysteine had lower gray matter thickness in bilateral frontal, parietal, occipital, and right temporal regions and lower gray matter volumes in left frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital regions, after controlling for diagnosis, age, and sex and after correcting for multiple comparisons.
No significant within-group associations were found in cognitively healthy people, patients with mild cognitive impairment, or patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Why it matters

This study examined how homocysteine levels relate to cortical gray matter thickness, volume, and surface area on brain MRI in 803 elderly participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. It is observational, so it cannot show that lowering homocysteine would prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease.

Study details

Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 43/100

Published in a peer-reviewed 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	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neurobiology of aging)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	Neurobiology of Aging: journal h-index 263 (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	1 / 5	2015 — within 20 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	4 / 7	Cited 65 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	5.0 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 5.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 4 other studies in this library
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 13 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Paul M. Thompson: h-index 193 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	University of California, Los Angeles: institution h-index 1,923 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25444607)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	43 / 100	—

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

Read the original

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.

Later studies that cite this one

4 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.

Related studies in Long-term cohort studies

Also tagged “cerebrospinal”

821 studies in the library carry the topic tag “cerebrospinal”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 821 tagged studies.

Similar studies

More on Long-term cohort studies

See all studies in Long-term cohort studies →