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Plasma tau correlates with basal forebrain atrophy rates in people at risk for Alzheimer disease
Cavedo E, Lista S, Houot M, Vergallo A, Grothe MJ, Teipel S, Zetterberg H, Blennow K et al.. Neurology, 2019-12-04
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective To investigate whether baseline concentrations of plasma total tau (t-tau) and neurofilament light (NfL) chain proteins are associated with annual percent change (APC) of the basal forebrain cholinergic system (BFCS) in cognitively intact older adults at risk for Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods This was a large-scale study of 276 cognitively intact older adults from the monocentric INSIGHT-preAD (Investigation of Alzheimer's Predictors in Subjective Memory Complainers) cohort. Participants underwent baseline assessment of plasma t-tau and NfL concentrations as well as baseline and 24-month follow-up MRI scans. Linear models with and without influential observations (calculated using the Cook distance) were carried out to investigate the effect of plasma NfL and t-tau concentrations, and their interaction effect with β-amyloid status and APOE genotype, on the APC of the whole BFCS and its anterior (Ch1/2) and posterior (Ch4) subdivisions separately. Results Higher plasma t-tau concentrations at baseline were associated with higher BFCS rate of atrophy (model without influencers: n = 251, F value = 4.6815; p value = 0.031). Subregional analyses showed similar results for both the APC of the Ch1/2 (model without influencers: n = 256, F value = 3.9535, p corrected = 0.047) and Ch4 BFCS sectors (model without influencers: n = 253, F value = 4.9090, p corrected = 0.047). Baseline NfL, β-amyloid load, and APOE ε4 carrier status did not affect APC of the BFCS. Conclusion Increased concentrations of baseline plasma t-tau may predict in vivo structural BFCS atrophy progression in older adults at risk for AD, independently of β-amyloid status and APOE genotype.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Cavedo, E., Lista, S., Houot, M., Vergallo, A., Grothe, M. J., Teipel, S., et al. (2020). Plasma tau correlates with basal forebrain atrophy rates in people at risk for Alzheimer disease. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000008696
Vancouver
Cavedo E, Lista S, Houot M, Vergallo A, Grothe MJ, Teipel S, et al. Plasma tau correlates with basal forebrain atrophy rates in people at risk for Alzheimer disease. Neurology. 2020. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000008696. PMID: 31801830.
BibTeX
@article{cavedo2020-31801830,
author = {Cavedo, E. and Lista, S. and Houot, M. and Vergallo, A. and Grothe, M. J. and Teipel, S. and Zetterberg, H. and Blennow, K. and others},
title = {{Plasma tau correlates with basal forebrain atrophy rates in people at risk for Alzheimer disease}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000008696},
pmid = {31801830},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000008696}
}
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Key findings
- Objective To investigate whether baseline concentrations of plasma total tau (t-tau) and neurofilament light (NfL) chain proteins are associated with annual percent change (APC) of the basal forebrain cholinergic system (BFCS) in cognitively intact older adults at risk for Alzheimer disease (AD).
- Results Higher plasma t-tau concentrations at baseline were associated with higher BFCS rate of atrophy (model without influencers: n = 251, F value = 4.6815; p value = 0.031).
- Subregional analyses showed similar results for both the APC of the Ch1/2 (model without influencers: n = 256, F value = 3.9535, p corrected = 0.047) and Ch4 BFCS sectors (model without influencers: n = 253, F value = 4.9090, p corrected = 0.047).
Why it matters
In 276 cognitively intact older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease, higher blood levels of total tau at the start were linked to faster shrinkage of the basal forebrain cholinergic system over 24 months. This is an observational finding about a risk marker, not a treatment or a way to prevent the disease.
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Study details
- Participants251
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 51 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 53 out of 100.
| 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 | 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 | 251 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 30 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.8 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 2.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 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 | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique: institution h-index 2,511 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 11 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31801830) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 51 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 51 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 53 out of 100. |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000008696
- PubMed: 31801830
- Original source →
- Free full text: iris.uniroma1.it →
Full text: free to read — Unpaywall lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
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