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Longitudinal cognitive decline is associated with fibrillar amyloid-beta measured by [11C]PiB
Resnick SM, Sojkova J, Zhou Y, An Y, Ye W, Holt DP, Dannals RF, Mathis CA et al.. Neurology, 2010-02-10
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective To investigate whether longitudinal declines in cognition are associated with higher fibrillar amyloid-beta (Abeta) deposition in vivo in individuals without dementia. Method [(11)C]PiB images were obtained to measure fibrillar Abeta burden in 57 participants without dementia from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Participants (33 men, 24 women) had a mean (SD) age of 78.7 (6.2) years. Six participants (4 men, 2 women) had mild cognitive impairment defined as Clinical Dementia Rating = 0.5. To measure [(11)C]PiB retention, distribution volume ratios (DVR) for 15 regions of interest were estimated by fitting a simplified reference tissue model to the measured time activity curves. Mixed effects regression was used to predict cognitive trajectories over time using data before and including time of PiB (mean follow-up 10.8 years), with mean cortical DVR, age at baseline, sex, and education as independent predictors. Voxel-based analysis identified local associations. Results [(11)C]PiB retention was higher in older individuals. Greater declines over time in mental status and verbal learning and memory, but not visual memory, were associated significantly with higher PiB retention. Voxel-based analysis showed significant associations in frontal and lateral temporal regions. Conclusions Higher Abeta deposition is associated with greater longitudinal decline in mental status and verbal memory in the preceding years. The differential association for verbal but not visual memory may reflect the greater reliance of verbal word list learning on prefrontal regions, which show early Abeta deposition. Prospective imaging may help distinguish between individuals with evolving neuropathology who develop accelerated cognitive decline vs those with normal aging.
Key findings
- Objective To investigate whether longitudinal declines in cognition are associated with higher fibrillar amyloid-beta (Abeta) deposition in vivo in individuals without dementia.
- Results [(11)C]PiB retention was higher in older individuals.
- Greater declines over time in mental status and verbal learning and memory, but not visual memory, were associated significantly with higher PiB retention.
- Voxel-based analysis showed significant associations in frontal and lateral temporal regions.
- Conclusions Higher Abeta deposition is associated with greater longitudinal decline in mental status and verbal memory in the preceding years.
Why it matters
In 57 older adults without dementia from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (mean age 78.7; six had mild cognitive impairment), people with more amyloid on a PiB brain scan had shown greater declines in mental status and verbal learning and memory over the years before the scan (mean follow-up 10.8 years), but not in visual memory. The authors conclude that higher amyloid is "associated with greater longitudinal decline in mental status and verbal memory in the preceding years." The study looked back from a single scan, so it shows an association. It does not show that the scan predicts future decline or that amyloid caused the decline.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants57
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 64/100
Published in a leading specialty 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 | 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 | 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 | 2010 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 57 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 289 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 16.1 citations a year over 18 year(s) since 2010 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 18.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 29 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 10 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Dean Foster Wong: h-index 85 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | National Institutes of Health: institution h-index 2,723 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20147655) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 64 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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.
APA 7th
Resnick, S. M., Sojkova, J., Zhou, Y., An, Y., Ye, W., Holt, D. P., et al. (2010). Longitudinal cognitive decline is associated with fibrillar amyloid-beta measured by [11C]PiB. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e3181d3e3e9
Vancouver
Resnick SM, Sojkova J, Zhou Y, An Y, Ye W, Holt DP, et al. Longitudinal cognitive decline is associated with fibrillar amyloid-beta measured by [11C]PiB. Neurology. 2010. doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e3181d3e3e9. PMID: 20147655.
BibTeX
@article{resnick2010-20147655,
author = {Resnick, S. M. and Sojkova, J. and Zhou, Y. and An, Y. and Ye, W. and Holt, D. P. and Dannals, R. F. and Mathis, C. A. and others},
title = {{Longitudinal cognitive decline is associated with fibrillar amyloid-beta measured by [11C]PiB}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0b013e3181d3e3e9},
pmid = {20147655},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e3181d3e3e9}
}
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