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59/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 59 out of 100. Tau biomarkers

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Plain-language summary

Background and objectives Alzheimer disease (AD) is primarily associated with accumulations of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in gray matter, however, it is now acknowledged that neuroinflammation, particularly in white matter (WM), significantly contributes to the development and progression of AD. This study aims to investigate WM neuroinflammation in the continuum of AD and its association with AD pathologies and cognition using diffusion-based neuroinflammation imaging (NII). Methods This is a cross-sectional, single-center, retrospective evaluation conducted on an observational study of 310 older research participants who were enrolled in the Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center cohort.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Moderate

This is a cross-sectional study of 310 participants. In 310 older participants, this cross-sectional study used a diffusion imaging measure to look at white matter neuroinflammation across the Alzheimer's continuum and its links to pathology and cognition. Reported effect size: 38.7%; 25.8%; 35.5%.

Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.

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

APA 7th

Wang, Q., Schindler, S. E., Chen, G., Mckay, N. S., McCullough, A., Flores, S., et al. (2024). Investigating White Matter Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer Disease Using Diffusion-Based Neuroinflammation Imaging. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000208013

Vancouver

Wang Q, Schindler SE, Chen G, Mckay NS, McCullough A, Flores S, et al. Investigating White Matter Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer Disease Using Diffusion-Based Neuroinflammation Imaging. Neurology. 2024. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000208013. PMID: 38315956.

BibTeX

@article{wang2024-38315956,
  author  = {Wang, Q. and Schindler, S. E. and Chen, G. and Mckay, N. S. and McCullough, A. and Flores, S. and Liu, J. and Sun, Z. and others},
  title   = {{Investigating White Matter Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer Disease Using Diffusion-Based Neuroinflammation Imaging}},
  journal = {Neurology},
  year    = {2024},
  doi     = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000208013},
  pmid    = {38315956},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000208013}
}

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.

How to read this study

Design: this is a cross-sectional study. Everyone is measured once, so it cannot show which came first. Read it as a snapshot of how two things go together at one moment.
Size: the record lists 310 participants. Ask whether that is enough for the question, and who they were.
Effect: the record reports “38.7%; 25.8%; 35.5%”. A statistically significant result can still be small in daily life.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded moderate. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Moderate means the abstract mentions a cohort, case-control or longitudinal design. 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

This study aims to investigate WM neuroinflammation in the continuum of AD and its association with AD pathologies and cognition using diffusion-based neuroinflammation imaging (NII).
Methods This is a cross-sectional, single-center, retrospective evaluation conducted on an observational study of 310 older research participants who were enrolled in the Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center cohort.
Hindered water ratio (HR), an index of WM neuroinflammation, was quantified by a noninvasive diffusion MRI method, NII.
The alterations of NII-HR were investigated at different AD stages, classified based on CSF concentrations of β-amyloid (Aβ) 42/Aβ40 for amyloid and phosphorylated tau181 (p-tau181) for tau.

Why it matters

In 310 older participants, this cross-sectional study used a diffusion imaging measure to look at white matter neuroinflammation across the Alzheimer's continuum and its links to pathology and cognition. It explores a possible contributor to disease but does not test any treatment or prevention.

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

Study details

Study designcross-sectional
Participants310
Effect size38.7%; 25.8%; 35.5%
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 59/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on institution's track record, so that was left out: it earned 57 of the 97 points we could judge it on, which is 59 out of 100.

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	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	4 / 5	2024 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	2 / 4	310 participants
Effect reported	2 / 3	Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	3 / 7	Cited 28 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	7.0 citations a year over 4 year(s) since 2024
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 3.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	1 / 6	Cited by 2 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 28 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Tammie L.S. Benzinger: h-index 98 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	— / 3	No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score
Multicenter collaboration	0 / 3	OpenAlex lists 0 institution(s) in 0 countries — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete)
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 38315956)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Points	57 / 97	Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 57 of the 97 points we could judge it on is 59 out of 100.
Total	59 / 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).

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