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59/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 59 out of 100. Brain scans and imaging

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Objective To investigate the relationship between brain microbleeds (MBs) and the rate of cognitive decline in Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods In this cohort study, we studied 221 patients with AD with available baseline MRI scans (1.0 or 1.5 T) and at least 2 Mini-Mental State Examinations (MMSE) scores obtained more than 1 year apart from our memory clinic. Mean ± SD follow-up time was 3 ± 1 years, and patients had a median of 4 MMSE scores (range 2-17). We used linear mixed models with sex and age as covariates to investigate whether MBs influenced the rate of cognitive decline. Results Mean age was 68 ± 9 years, 109 (49%) patients were female, and the baseline MMSE score was 22 ± 4. There were 39 patients (18%) with MBs (median 2, range 1-27) and 182 without. Linear mixed models showed that overall patients declined 2 MMSE points per year. We found no association of the presence of MBs with baseline MMSE or change in MMSE. Adjustment for atrophy, white matter hyperintensities, lacunes, and vascular risk factors did not change the results nor did stratification for MB location, APOE ε4 carriership, or age at onset (≤65 years vs >65 years). Repeating the analyses with number of MBs as predictor rendered similar results. Conclusion MBs did not influence the rate of cognitive decline in patients with AD. The formerly reported increased risk of mortality in patients with MBs seems not to be attributable to a steeper rate of decline per se but might be due to vascular events, including (hemorrhagic) stroke.

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

APA 7th

van der Vlies, A. E., Goos, J. D., Barkhof, F., Scheltens, P., & van der Flier, W. M. (2012). Microbleeds do not affect rate of cognitive decline in Alzheimer disease. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e3182661f91

Vancouver

van der Vlies AE, Goos JD, Barkhof F, Scheltens P, van der Flier WM. Microbleeds do not affect rate of cognitive decline in Alzheimer disease. Neurology. 2012. doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e3182661f91. PMID: 22875093.

BibTeX

@article{vandervlies2012-22875093,
  author  = {van der Vlies, A. E. and Goos, J. D. and Barkhof, F. and Scheltens, P. and van der Flier, W. M.},
  title   = {{Microbleeds do not affect rate of cognitive decline in Alzheimer disease}},
  journal = {Neurology},
  year    = {2012},
  doi     = {10.1212/wnl.0b013e3182661f91},
  pmid    = {22875093},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e3182661f91}
}

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Key findings

Results Mean age was 68 ± 9 years, 109 (49%) patients were female, and the baseline MMSE score was 22 ± 4.
Linear mixed models showed that overall patients declined 2 MMSE points per year.
We found no association of the presence of MBs with baseline MMSE or change in MMSE.
Adjustment for atrophy, white matter hyperintensities, lacunes, and vascular risk factors did not change the results nor did stratification for MB location, APOE ε4 carriership, or age at onset (≤65 years vs >65 years).
Repeating the analyses with number of MBs as predictor rendered similar results.

Why it matters

In this cohort of 221 patients with Alzheimer disease, the presence or number of brain microbleeds was not associated with baseline cognition or the rate of cognitive decline. The study found no effect of microbleeds on cognitive decline, so it does not support microbleeds as a target for treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

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Study details

Study designcohort study
Participants221
Effect sizeor 1.5
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 59/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for 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 cohort study following 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	2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	2 / 4	221 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)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	4 / 7	Cited 76 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	4.8 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 6.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 7 other studies in this library
Still being cited	0 / 4	Cited 2 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Wiesje M. van der Flier: h-index 132 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam: institution h-index 938 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	0 / 3	OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete)
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22875093)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	59 / 100	—

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