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Molecular properties underlying regional vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease pathology
Grothe MJ, Sepulcre J, Gonzalez-Escamilla G, Jelistratova I, Schöll M, Hansson O, Teipel SJ, Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.. Brain : a journal of neurology, 2018-09-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Amyloid deposition and neurofibrillary degeneration in Alzheimer's disease specifically affect discrete neuronal systems, but the underlying mechanisms that render some brain regions more vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease pathology than others remain largely unknown. Here we studied molecular properties underlying these distinct regional vulnerabilities by analysing Alzheimer's disease-typical neuroimaging patterns of amyloid deposition and neurodegeneration in relation to regional gene expression profiles of the human brain. Graded patterns of brain-wide vulnerability to amyloid deposition and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease were estimated by contrasting multimodal amyloid-sensitive PET and structural MRI data between patients with Alzheimer's disease dementia (n = 76) and healthy controls (n = 126) enrolled in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Grothe, M. J., Sepulcre, J., Gonzalez-Escamilla, G., Jelistratova, I., Schöll, M., Hansson, O., et al. (2018). Molecular properties underlying regional vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease pathology. Brain : a journal of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awy189
Vancouver
Grothe MJ, Sepulcre J, Gonzalez-Escamilla G, Jelistratova I, Schöll M, Hansson O, et al. Molecular properties underlying regional vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease pathology. Brain : a journal of neurology. 2018. doi:10.1093/brain/awy189. PMID: 30016411.
BibTeX
@article{grothe2018-30016411,
author = {Grothe, M. J. and Sepulcre, J. and Gonzalez-Escamilla, G. and Jelistratova, I. and Schöll, M. and Hansson, O. and Teipel, S. J. and {Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative}},
title = {{Molecular properties underlying regional vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease pathology}},
journal = {Brain : a journal of neurology},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1093/brain/awy189},
pmid = {30016411},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awy189}
}
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 names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Here we studied molecular properties underlying these distinct regional vulnerabilities by analysing Alzheimer's disease-typical neuroimaging patterns of amyloid deposition and neurodegeneration in relation to regional gene expression profiles of the human brain.
- Graded patterns of brain-wide vulnerability to amyloid deposition and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease were estimated by contrasting multimodal amyloid-sensitive PET and structural MRI data between patients with Alzheimer's disease dementia (n = 76) and healthy controls (n = 126) enrolled in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI).
- Regional gene expression profiles were derived from brain-wide microarray measurements provided by the Allen brain atlas of the adult human brain transcriptome.
- In a hypothesis-driven analysis focusing on the genes coding for the amyloid precursor (APP) and tau proteins (MAPT), regional expression levels of APP were positively correlated with the severity of regional amyloid deposition (r = 0.44, P = 0.009), but not neurodegeneration (r = 0.01, P = 0.96), whereas the opposite pattern was observed for MAPT (neurodegeneration: r = 0.46, P = 0.006; amyloid: r = 0.08, P = 0.65).
Why it matters
This study compared brain imaging patterns of amyloid and neurodegeneration in people with Alzheimer's dementia against healthy controls, and related those patterns to gene expression in different brain regions. It is an analysis of existing human data that may help explain why some brain areas are more vulnerable, but it does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.
Study details
- Participants76
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 57 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 59 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Brain : a journal of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Brain: journal h-index 503 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 76 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 143 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 14.3 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 10.4× 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 44 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 12 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30016411) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 57 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 57 of the 96 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 →
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