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Plasma VEGFA and PGF impact longitudinal tau and cognition in preclinical Alzheimer's disease
Yang HS, Yau WW, Carlyle BC, Trombetta BA, Zhang C, Shirzadi Z, Schultz AP, Pruzin JJ et al.. Brain : a journal of neurology, 2024-06-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Baseline plasma VEGFA and PGF each showed a significant interaction with amyloid burden on prospective cognitive decline. Specifically, low VEGFA and high PGF were associated with greater cognitive decline in individuals with elevated amyloid, i.e. those on the Alzheimer's disease continuum. Concordantly, low VEGFA and high PGF were associated with accelerated longitudinal tau accumulation in those with elevated amyloid. The effects of VEGFA and PGF on tau and cognition remained significant after adjusting for cardiovascular risk score or white matter hyperintensity volume. There were concordant but non-significant associations with longitudinal hippocampal atrophy. Together, our findings implicate low VEGFA and high PGF in accelerating early neocortical tau pathology and cognitive decline in preclinical Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, our results underscore the potential of these minimally-invasive plasma biomarkers to inform the risk of Alzheimer's disease progression in the preclinical population.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Yang, H. S., Yau, W. W., Carlyle, B. C., Trombetta, B. A., Zhang, C., Shirzadi, Z., et al. (2024). Plasma VEGFA and PGF impact longitudinal tau and cognition in preclinical Alzheimer's disease. Brain : a journal of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae034
Vancouver
Yang HS, Yau WW, Carlyle BC, Trombetta BA, Zhang C, Shirzadi Z, et al. Plasma VEGFA and PGF impact longitudinal tau and cognition in preclinical Alzheimer's disease. Brain : a journal of neurology. 2024. doi:10.1093/brain/awae034. PMID: 38315899.
BibTeX
@article{yang2024-38315899,
author = {Yang, H. S. and Yau, W. W. and Carlyle, B. C. and Trombetta, B. A. and Zhang, C. and Shirzadi, Z. and Schultz, A. P. and Pruzin, J. J. and others},
title = {{Plasma VEGFA and PGF impact longitudinal tau and cognition in preclinical Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Brain : a journal of neurology},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1093/brain/awae034},
pmid = {38315899},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae034}
}
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Key findings
- Baseline plasma VEGFA and PGF each showed a significant interaction with amyloid burden on prospective cognitive decline.
- Specifically, low VEGFA and high PGF were associated with greater cognitive decline in individuals with elevated amyloid, i.e. those on the Alzheimer's disease continuum.
- Concordantly, low VEGFA and high PGF were associated with accelerated longitudinal tau accumulation in those with elevated amyloid.
- The effects of VEGFA and PGF on tau and cognition remained significant after adjusting for cardiovascular risk score or white matter hyperintensity volume.
- There were concordant but non-significant associations with longitudinal hippocampal atrophy.
Why it matters
In people with elevated amyloid, low plasma VEGFA and high plasma PGF were linked to greater cognitive decline and faster accumulation of tau over time. This suggests these blood markers may help flag who is at risk of progressing in preclinical Alzheimer's disease, but it does not show that changing them treats, cures or prevents the disease.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants317
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 68/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Brain : a journal of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Brain: journal h-index 503 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over 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 | 4 / 5 | 2024 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 317 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 | 4 / 7 | Cited 41 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.2 citations a year over 4 year(s) since 2024 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 11.2× 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 | 2 / 4 | Cited 41 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Jasmeer P. Chhatwal: h-index 64 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 12 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 38315899) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 68 / 100 | — |
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