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Multimodal techniques for diagnosis and prognosis of Alzheimer's disease
Perrin RJ, Fagan AM, Holtzman DM.. Nature, 2009-10-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Alzheimer's disease affects millions of people around the world. Currently, there are no treatments that prevent or slow the disease. Like other neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer's disease is characterized by protein misfolding in the brain. This process and the associated brain damage begin years before the substantial neurodegeneration that accompanies dementia. Studies using new neuroimaging techniques and fluid biomarkers suggest that Alzheimer's disease pathology can be detected preclinically. These advances should allow the design of new clinical trials and early mechanism-based therapeutic intervention.
Key findings
- Studies using new neuroimaging techniques and fluid biomarkers suggest that Alzheimer's disease pathology can be detected preclinically.
Why it matters
In this 2009 review in Nature, the authors note that the protein misfolding and brain damage of Alzheimer's disease "begin years before" dementia, and that studies using new brain-imaging techniques and fluid biomarkers "suggest" this damage can be detected before symptoms. They argued this should make earlier, mechanism-based trials possible; the review reports no new data of its own. Their statement that no treatment could prevent or slow the disease describes 2009, not today.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a top-tier journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 10 / 10 | Tier 1 — top-tier general journal (Nature) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Nature: journal h-index 1,841 (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 | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2009 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 703 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 37.0 citations a year over 19 year(s) since 2009 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 26.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 49 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 78 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author David M. Holtzman: h-index 206 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Washington University in St. Louis: institution h-index 1,962 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 19829371) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 57 / 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).
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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Perrin, R. J., Fagan, A. M., & Holtzman, D. M. (2009). Multimodal techniques for diagnosis and prognosis of Alzheimer's disease. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08538
Vancouver
Perrin RJ, Fagan AM, Holtzman DM. Multimodal techniques for diagnosis and prognosis of Alzheimer's disease. Nature. 2009. doi:10.1038/nature08538. PMID: 19829371.
BibTeX
@article{perrin2009-19829371,
author = {Perrin, R. J. and Fagan, A. M. and Holtzman, D. M.},
title = {{Multimodal techniques for diagnosis and prognosis of Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Nature},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.1038/nature08538},
pmid = {19829371},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08538}
}
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