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Plasma Aβ and neurofilament light chain are associated with cognitive and physical function decline in non-dementia older adults
He L, de Souto Barreto P, Aggarwal G, Nguyen AD, Morley JE, Li Y, Bateman RJ, Vellas B et al.. Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2020-10-08
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Background Cognition is closely associated with physical function. Although high brain amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition and neurofilament light chain (NfL) are associated with cognitive and gait speed decline, relationships of combined plasma Aβ and NfL profiles with cognitive and physical functions in older adults remain unknown. The research aim of this study was to investigate the prospective associations of combined plasma Aβ and NfL profiles with cognitive and physical functions in older adults. Methods Participants (n = 452, aged 76 ± 5 years) who had both plasma Aβ and NfL data collected from the Multidomain Alzheimer's Preventive Trial (MAPT, May 2008 to April 2016) were included in the current study. These participants were from four MAPT groups (multidomain interventions [physical activity and nutritional counselling, and cognitive training], omega-3 supplementation, multidomain plus omega-3 supplementation and control group) and had received a 3-year intervention, followed by a 2-year observational follow-up. Cognitive function was evaluated as Mini-Mental State Examination and composite cognitive score (CCS, a mean Z-score combining four cognitive tests). Physical function was evaluated as gait speed (4-m usual-pace walk test) and chair-stand time (5-time maximal chair-stand test). Cognitive and physical function data measured at the time of and after blood Aβ and NfL tests were used for analysis. Participants with plasma Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 ratios lower than 0.107 and NfL levels greater than 93.04 pg/ml were classified as Aβ+ and NfL+. Multivariable regressions and mixed-effects linear models were used for the analysis. Results At the cross-sectional level, no significant association was found between Aβ+NfL+ and cognitive or physical function after controlling for age, sex, body mass index, education level and MAPT group. Evaluating longitudinal changes, participants with Aβ+NfL+ had greater annual declines in the CCS (β = - 0.11, 95%CI [- 0.17, - 0.05]) and gait speed (β = - 0.03, 95%CI [- 0.05, - 0.005]). After adjusting for APOE ɛ4 genotype, Aβ+NfL+ was associated with a greater decline only in the CCS (β = - 0.09, 95%CI [- 0.15, - 0.02]). Conclusions Combined low plasma Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 ratio and high plasma NfL level was associated with greater declines in cognition and gait speed over time, providing further evidence of the links between cognitive and physical function. Trial registration www.clinicaltrials.gov [ NCT00672685 ].
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APA 7th
He, L., de Souto Barreto, P., Aggarwal, G., Nguyen, A. D., Morley, J. E., Li, Y., et al. (2020). Plasma Aβ and neurofilament light chain are associated with cognitive and physical function decline in non-dementia older adults. Alzheimer's research & therapy. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-020-00697-0
Vancouver
He L, de Souto Barreto P, Aggarwal G, Nguyen AD, Morley JE, Li Y, et al. Plasma Aβ and neurofilament light chain are associated with cognitive and physical function decline in non-dementia older adults. Alzheimer's research & therapy. 2020. doi:10.1186/s13195-020-00697-0. PMID: 33032662.
BibTeX
@article{he2020-33032662,
author = {He, L. and de Souto Barreto, P. and Aggarwal, G. and Nguyen, A. D. and Morley, J. E. and Li, Y. and Bateman, R. J. and Vellas, B. and others},
title = {{Plasma Aβ and neurofilament light chain are associated with cognitive and physical function decline in non-dementia older adults}},
journal = {Alzheimer's research \& therapy},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1186/s13195-020-00697-0},
pmid = {33032662},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-020-00697-0}
}
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Key findings
- Background Cognition is closely associated with physical function.
- Although high brain amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition and neurofilament light chain (NfL) are associated with cognitive and gait speed decline, relationships of combined plasma Aβ and NfL profiles with cognitive and physical functions in older adults remain unknown.
- Results At the cross-sectional level, no significant association was found between Aβ+NfL+ and cognitive or physical function after controlling for age, sex, body mass index, education level and MAPT group.
- After adjusting for APOE ɛ4 genotype, Aβ+NfL+ was associated with a greater decline only in the CCS (β = - 0.09, 95%CI [- 0.15, - 0.02]).
- Conclusions Combined low plasma Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 ratio and high plasma NfL level was associated with greater declines in cognition and gait speed over time, providing further evidence of the links between cognitive and physical function.
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Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants452
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 60/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 35 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 60 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer's research & therapy) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in 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 | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 452 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 | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 33032662) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 35 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 35 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 60 out of 100. |
| Total | 60 / 100 | — |
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