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Plasma biomarker profiles and the correlation with cognitive function across the clinical spectrum of Alzheimer's disease
Xiao Z, Wu X, Wu W, Yi J, Liang X, Ding S, Zheng L, Luo J et al.. Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2021-07-05
Topic: Plasma and spinal-fluid biomarkers
Background Plasma biomarkers showed a promising value in the disease diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, profiles of the biomarkers and the associations with cognition across a spectrum of cognitive stages have seldom been reported. Methods We recruited 320 individuals with cognitive impairment and 131 cognitively normal participants from a memory clinic and a community cohort. Participants were classified into 6 groups based on their Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scores and clinical diagnosis, including AD, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and normal cognition (NC). A battery of neuropsychological tests was used to assess the global and domain-specific cognition. Plasma Aβ 1-40 , Aβ 1-42 , Aβ 1-42 /Aβ 1-40 , total tau (t-tau), neurofilament protein light chain (NfL), and phosphorylated tau at threonine 181 (p-tau181) were quantified using the single-molecule array (Simoa) platform. Results All the plasma markers (Aβ 1-40 , Aβ 1-42 , Aβ 1-42 /Aβ 1-40 , t-tau, NfL, p-tau181) showed certain discrepancies among NC, aMCI, and AD groups. The p-tau181 level showed a continuous escalating trend as the CDR scores increased from 0 (NC group) to 3 (severe AD). Compared with other biomarkers, p-tau181 had correlations with broader cognitive domains, covering global cognition (r = -0.536, P < 0.0001), memory (r = -0.481, P < 0.0001), attention (r = -0.437, P < 0.0001), visuospatial function (r = -0.385, P < 0.0001), and language (r = -0.177, P = 0.0003). Among participants with CDR ≥ 1, higher p-tau181 was correlated with worse global cognition (r = -0.301, P < 0.001). Conclusions Plasma p-tau181 had correlations with broader cognitive domains, suggesting its potential as a promising clinical-relevant blood-based biomarker.
Key findings
- Results All the plasma markers (Aβ 1-40 , Aβ 1-42 , Aβ 1-42 /Aβ 1-40 , t-tau, NfL, p-tau181) showed certain discrepancies among NC, aMCI, and AD groups.
- Compared with other biomarkers, p-tau181 had correlations with broader cognitive domains, covering global cognition (r = -0.536, P < 0.0001), memory (r = -0.481, P < 0.0001), attention (r = -0.437, P < 0.0001), visuospatial function (r = -0.385, P < 0.0001), and language (r = -0.177, P = 0.0003).
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Study details
- Participants320
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 55/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, 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 32 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 55 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 | 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 | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 320 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 34225797) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 32 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 32 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 55 out of 100. |
| Total | 55 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Xiao, Z., Wu, X., Wu, W., Yi, J., Liang, X., Ding, S., et al. (2021). Plasma biomarker profiles and the correlation with cognitive function across the clinical spectrum of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's research & therapy. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-021-00864-x
Vancouver
Xiao Z, Wu X, Wu W, Yi J, Liang X, Ding S, et al. Plasma biomarker profiles and the correlation with cognitive function across the clinical spectrum of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's research & therapy. 2021. doi:10.1186/s13195-021-00864-x. PMID: 34225797.
BibTeX
@article{xiao2021-34225797,
author = {Xiao, Z. and Wu, X. and Wu, W. and Yi, J. and Liang, X. and Ding, S. and Zheng, L. and Luo, J. and others},
title = {{Plasma biomarker profiles and the correlation with cognitive function across the clinical spectrum of Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Alzheimer's research \& therapy},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1186/s13195-021-00864-x},
pmid = {34225797},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-021-00864-x}
}