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Inflammatory proteins in plasma are associated with severity of Alzheimer's disease
Leung R, Proitsi P, Simmons A, Lunnon K, Güntert A, Kronenberg D, Pritchard M, Tsolaki M et al.. PloS one, 2013-06-10
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Markers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are being widely sought with a number of studies suggesting blood measures of inflammatory proteins as putative biomarkers. Here we report findings from a panel of 27 cytokines and related proteins in over 350 subjects with AD, subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and elderly normal controls where we also have measures of longitudinal change in cognition and baseline neuroimaging measures of atrophy. In this study, we identify five inflammatory proteins associated with evidence of atrophy on MR imaging data particularly in whole brain, ventricular and entorhinal cortex measures. In addition, we observed six analytes that showed significant change (over a period of one year) in people with fast cognitive decline compared to those with intermediate and slow decline. One of these (IL-10) was also associated with brain atrophy in AD. In conclusion, IL-10 was associated with both clinical and imaging evidence of severity of disease and might therefore have potential to act as biomarker of disease progression.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Leung, R., Proitsi, P., Simmons, A., Lunnon, K., Güntert, A., Kronenberg, D., et al. (2013). Inflammatory proteins in plasma are associated with severity of Alzheimer's disease. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0064971
Vancouver
Leung R, Proitsi P, Simmons A, Lunnon K, Güntert A, Kronenberg D, et al. Inflammatory proteins in plasma are associated with severity of Alzheimer's disease. PloS one. 2013. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064971. PMID: 23762274.
BibTeX
@article{leung2013-23762274,
author = {Leung, R. and Proitsi, P. and Simmons, A. and Lunnon, K. and Güntert, A. and Kronenberg, D. and Pritchard, M. and Tsolaki, M. and others},
title = {{Inflammatory proteins in plasma are associated with severity of Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0064971},
pmid = {23762274},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0064971}
}
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Key findings
- In this study, we identify five inflammatory proteins associated with evidence of atrophy on MR imaging data particularly in whole brain, ventricular and entorhinal cortex measures.
- In addition, we observed six analytes that showed significant change (over a period of one year) in people with fast cognitive decline compared to those with intermediate and slow decline.
- One of these (IL-10) was also associated with brain atrophy in AD.
- In conclusion, IL-10 was associated with both clinical and imaging evidence of severity of disease and might therefore have potential to act as biomarker of disease progression.
Why it matters
In this study of over 350 subjects, five inflammatory proteins were associated with brain atrophy on MRI, and six analytes changed significantly over one year in people with fast cognitive decline. IL-10 was associated with both clinical and imaging evidence of disease severity and might have potential as a biomarker of progression, but no treatment is tested.
Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants350
- Evidence strengthModerate
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional, observational analysis linking blood proteins to imaging measures, so it cannot establish whether inflammation is a cause, a consequence, or simply a bystander of the brain atrophy it's associated with.
How this study scored 65/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (PloS one) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | PLoS ONE: journal h-index 594 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over 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 | 2013 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 350 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 160 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.7 citations a year over 15 year(s) since 2013 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 5 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 37 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Simon Lovestone: h-index 118 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Inserm: institution h-index 1,988 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 14 institution(s) in 7 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 23762274) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 65 / 100 | — |
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