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52/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 52 out of 100. Tau biomarkers

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Plain-language summary

Background Hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia, including Alzheimer disease (AD). Homocysteine (Hcy) is a sulfur-containing amino acid and metabolite of the methionine pathway. The interrelated methionine, purine, and thymidylate cycles constitute the one-carbon metabolism that plays a critical role in the synthesis of DNA, neurotransmitters, phospholipids, and myelin.

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

APA 7th

Dayon, L., Guiraud, S. P., Corthésy, J., Da Silva, L., Migliavacca, E., Tautvydaitė, D., et al. (2017). One-carbon metabolism, cognitive impairment and CSF measures of Alzheimer pathology: homocysteine and beyond. Alzheimer's research & therapy. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-017-0270-x

Vancouver

Dayon L, Guiraud SP, Corthésy J, Da Silva L, Migliavacca E, Tautvydaitė D, et al. One-carbon metabolism, cognitive impairment and CSF measures of Alzheimer pathology: homocysteine and beyond. Alzheimer's research & therapy. 2017. doi:10.1186/s13195-017-0270-x. PMID: 28623948.

BibTeX

@article{dayon2017-28623948,
  author  = {Dayon, L. and Guiraud, S. P. and Corthésy, J. and Da Silva, L. and Migliavacca, E. and Tautvydaitė, D. and Oikonomidi, A. and Moullet, B. and others},
  title   = {{One-carbon metabolism, cognitive impairment and CSF measures of Alzheimer pathology: homocysteine and beyond}},
  journal = {Alzheimer's research \& therapy},
  year    = {2017},
  doi     = {10.1186/s13195-017-0270-x},
  pmid    = {28623948},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-017-0270-x}
}

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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 72 participants. Ask whether that is enough for the question, and who they were.
Effect: the record reports “80.8%; 87.4%; 87.5%”. A statistically significant result can still be small in daily life.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded low. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Low means the abstract matched neither pattern. It is the default label, and it does not mean the work is poor; many sound lab and imaging papers land here. 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

Homocysteine (Hcy) is a sulfur-containing amino acid and metabolite of the methionine pathway.
The interrelated methionine, purine, and thymidylate cycles constitute the one-carbon metabolism that plays a critical role in the synthesis of DNA, neurotransmitters, phospholipids, and myelin.
In this study, we tested the hypothesis that one-carbon metabolites beyond Hcy are relevant to cognitive function and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) measures of AD pathology in older adults.
Methods Cross-sectional analysis was performed on matched CSF and plasma collected from 120 older community-dwelling adults with (n = 72) or without (n = 48) cognitive impairment.

Why it matters

This study examined whether one-carbon metabolism metabolites beyond homocysteine were related to cognitive function and cerebrospinal fluid measures of Alzheimer's pathology in older adults. It is a cross-sectional observational study and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.

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Study details

Study designcross-sectional
Participants72
Effect size80.8%; 87.4%; 87.5%
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 52/100

Published in a peer-reviewed 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.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer's research & therapy)
Journal's citation record	1 / 4	Alzheimer s Research & Therapy: journal h-index 146 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	4 / 12	A snapshot of people at one point in time
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	2 / 5	2017 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	1 / 4	72 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	4 / 7	Cited 69 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	6.3 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 3.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	1 / 6	Cited by 1 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 18 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Julius Popp: h-index 59 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne: institution h-index 1,186 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28623948)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	52 / 100	—

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