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.

56/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 56 out of 100. Brain scans and imaging

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Background Systemic inflammation is associated with ischemia and Alzheimer disease (AD). We hypothesized that inflammatory biomarkers would be associated with neuroimaging markers of ischemia (i.e., white matter hyperintensities [WMH]) and AD (i.e., total brain volume [TCB]). Methods MRI WMH and TCB were quantified on 1,926 Framingham Offspring participants free from clinical stroke, TIA, or dementia (mean age 60 +/- 9 years; range 35 to 85 years; 54% women) who underwent measurement of a circulating inflammatory marker panel, including CD40 ligand, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble intracellular adhesion molecule-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, myeloperoxidase, osteoprotegerin (OPG), P-selectin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha), and tumor necrosis factor receptor II. To account for head size, both TCB (TCBV) and WMH (WMH/TCV) were divided by total cranial volume. We used multivariable linear regression to relate 10 log-transformed inflammatory biomarkers to brain MRI measures. Results In multivariable models, inflammatory markers as a group were associated with TCBV (p Conclusions Although our observational cross-sectional data cannot establish causality, they are consistent with the hypothesis that higher inflammatory markers are associated with greater atrophy than expected for age.

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

APA 7th

Jefferson, A. L., Massaro, J. M., Wolf, P. A., Seshadri, S., Au, R., Vasan, R. S., et al. (2007). Inflammatory biomarkers are associated with total brain volume: the Framingham Heart Study. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000257815.20548.df

Vancouver

Jefferson AL, Massaro JM, Wolf PA, Seshadri S, Au R, Vasan RS, et al. Inflammatory biomarkers are associated with total brain volume: the Framingham Heart Study. Neurology. 2007. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000257815.20548.df. PMID: 17389308.

BibTeX

@article{jefferson2007-17389308,
  author  = {Jefferson, A. L. and Massaro, J. M. and Wolf, P. A. and Seshadri, S. and Au, R. and Vasan, R. S. and Larson, M. G. and Meigs, J. B. and others},
  title   = {{Inflammatory biomarkers are associated with total brain volume: the Framingham Heart Study}},
  journal = {Neurology},
  year    = {2007},
  doi     = {10.1212/01.wnl.0000257815.20548.df},
  pmid    = {17389308},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000257815.20548.df}
}

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.

Key findings

Background Systemic inflammation is associated with ischemia and Alzheimer disease (AD).
We hypothesized that inflammatory biomarkers would be associated with neuroimaging markers of ischemia (i.e., white matter hyperintensities [WMH]) and AD (i.e., total brain volume [TCB]).
Results In multivariable models, inflammatory markers as a group were associated with TCBV (p < 0.0001) but not WMH/TCV (p = 0.28).

Why it matters

In 1,926 Framingham Offspring participants aged 35 to 85 without stroke or dementia, higher blood levels of 10 inflammatory markers, taken as a group, were linked to smaller brain volume for head size (p < 0.0001), but not to white-matter lesions (p = 0.28). The authors say this is "consistent with the hypothesis that higher inflammatory markers are associated with greater atrophy than expected for age," but their cross-sectional data "cannot establish causality". The study does not show that lowering inflammation protects the brain or prevents Alzheimer's.

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

Study details

Study designcross-sectional
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 56/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for 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 (Neurology)
Journal's citation record	4 / 4	Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	4 / 12	A snapshot of people at one point in time
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	2007 — 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 280 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	13.3 citations a year over 21 year(s) since 2007
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 6.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	3 / 6	Cited by 10 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 40 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Charles S DeCarli: h-index 150 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	3 / 3	Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 17389308)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	56 / 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

10 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.

Related studies in Brain scans and imaging

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.

Similar studies

More on Brain scans and imaging

See all studies in Brain scans and imaging →