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Peripheral insulin and brain structure in early Alzheimer disease
Burns JM, Donnelly JE, Anderson HS, Mayo MS, Spencer-Gardner L, Thomas G, Cronk BB, Haddad Z et al.. Neurology, 2007-09-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective Accumulating evidence suggests insulin and insulin signaling may be involved in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer disease (AD). The relationship between insulin-mediated glucoregulation and brain structure has not been assessed in individuals with AD. Methods Nondemented (Clinical Dementia Rating [CDR] 0, n = 31) and early stage AD (CDR 0.5 and 1, n = 31) participants aged 65 years and older had brain MRI to determine whole brain and hippocampal volume and 3-hour IV glucose tolerance tests to determine glucose and insulin area under the curve (AUC). Linear regression models were used to assess the relationship of insulin and glucose with brain volume, cognition, and dementia severity. Results In early AD, insulin and glucose AUCs were related to whole brain (insulin beta = 0.66, p Conclusions Increased peripheral insulin is associated with reduced Alzheimer disease (AD)-related brain atrophy, cognitive dysfunction, and dementia severity, suggesting that insulin signaling may play a role in the pathophysiology of AD.
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APA 7th
Burns, J. M., Donnelly, J. E., Anderson, H. S., Mayo, M. S., Spencer-Gardner, L., Thomas, G., et al. (2007). Peripheral insulin and brain structure in early Alzheimer disease. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000276952.91704.af
Vancouver
Burns JM, Donnelly JE, Anderson HS, Mayo MS, Spencer-Gardner L, Thomas G, et al. Peripheral insulin and brain structure in early Alzheimer disease. Neurology. 2007. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000276952.91704.af. PMID: 17846409.
BibTeX
@article{burns2007-17846409,
author = {Burns, J. M. and Donnelly, J. E. and Anderson, H. S. and Mayo, M. S. and Spencer-Gardner, L. and Thomas, G. and Cronk, B. B. and Haddad, Z. and others},
title = {{Peripheral insulin and brain structure in early Alzheimer disease}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1212/01.wnl.0000276952.91704.af},
pmid = {17846409},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000276952.91704.af}
}
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Key findings
- Results In early AD, insulin and glucose AUCs were related to whole brain (insulin beta = 0.66, p < 0.001; glucose beta = 0.45, p < 0.01) and hippocampal volume (insulin beta = 0.42, p < 0.05; glucose beta = 0.46, p < 0.05).
Why it matters
In people with early Alzheimer's disease, higher peripheral insulin levels were associated with less brain atrophy, less cognitive dysfunction, and lower dementia severity. This suggests insulin signaling may play a role in the disease, but the study does not show that giving insulin helps.
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Study details
- Participants31
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 48/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, 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 | 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 | 2007 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 31 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 121 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.8 citations a year over 21 year(s) since 2007 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 5 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 12 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author William Miles Brooks: h-index 70 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Kansas: institution h-index 709 (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 17846409) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 48 / 100 | — |
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