Increased brain atrophy rates in cognitively normal older adults with low cerebrospinal fluid Aβ1-42
Schott JM, Bartlett JW, Fox NC, Barnes J, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Investigators.. Annals of neurology, 2010-12-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Objective To identify cognitively normal individuals at risk of Alzheimer disease (AD) based on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ1-42, and to determine rates of cerebral atrophy. Methods Control subjects from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative with CSF and serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were dichotomized on CSF Aβ1-42 (normal control [NC]-high > 192 pg/ml; NC-low ≤ 192 pg/ml). Baseline and 1-year MRIs were registered, and brain, hippocampal, and ventricular volumes and annualized volume changes were calculated. Baseline characteristics, CSF profiles, neuropsychology, brain volumes and atrophy rates, and APOE, PICALM, CLU, and TOMM40 genotypes were compared. Sample sizes to power presymptomatic clinical trials based on rate of atrophy were calculated. Results Forty of 105 (38%) were classified as NC-low, and 65 (62%) as NC-high. There were no differences in age (76.3 ± 5.1 vs 74.9 ± 5.1 years), gender, brain volumes, and all but 1 cognitive score (Trails B; p = 0.015). The NC-low group had higher tau (p = 0.005) and p-tau (p Interpretation A significant percentage of healthy older adults have CSF profiles consistent with AD and increased rates of brain atrophy, suggesting that they may be in the earliest stages of neurodegeneration. Brain atrophy may be a feasible outcome measure for AD prevention studies.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Schott, J. M., Bartlett, J. W., Fox, N. C., Barnes, J., & Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Investigators. (2010). Increased brain atrophy rates in cognitively normal older adults with low cerebrospinal fluid Aβ1-42. Annals of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.22315
Vancouver
Schott JM, Bartlett JW, Fox NC, Barnes J, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Investigators. Increased brain atrophy rates in cognitively normal older adults with low cerebrospinal fluid Aβ1-42. Annals of neurology. 2010. doi:10.1002/ana.22315. PMID: 21181717.
BibTeX
@article{schott2010-21181717,
author = {Schott, J. M. and Bartlett, J. W. and Fox, N. C. and Barnes, J. and {Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Investigators}},
title = {{Increased brain atrophy rates in cognitively normal older adults with low cerebrospinal fluid Aβ1-42}},
journal = {Annals of neurology},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1002/ana.22315},
pmid = {21181717},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.22315}
}
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
- Results Forty of 105 (38%) were classified as NC-low, and 65 (62%) as NC-high.
- The NC-low group had higher tau (p = 0.005) and p-tau (p Interpretation A significant percentage of healthy older adults have CSF profiles consistent with AD and increased rates of brain atrophy, suggesting that they may be in the earliest stages of neurodegeneration.
Why it matters
Among 105 cognitively normal older adults, 38% had low cerebrospinal fluid Aβ1-42 and this group had higher tau and p-tau and increased rates of brain atrophy, suggesting they may be in the earliest stages of neurodegeneration. This supports using brain atrophy as an outcome measure in prevention studies and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Genetics →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 48/100
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. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 46 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 48 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Annals of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Annals of Neurology: journal h-index 437 (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 | 2010 — 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 151 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 8.4 citations a year over 18 year(s) since 2010 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 10.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 19 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 9 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21181717) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 46 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 46 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 48 out of 100. |
| Total | 48 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription Unpaywall, Europe PMC and OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 10 Oct 2026), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 20.
Later studies that cite this one
19 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Genetics
Also tagged “vessel”
900 studies in the library carry the topic tag “vessel”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 900 tagged studies.