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61/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 61 out of 100. Brain scans and imaging

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Plain-language summary

Objective To examine body composition in individuals with early AD and without dementia and its relation to cognition and brain volume. Design Cross-sectional case-control study. Participants Individuals without dementia (Clinical Dementia Rating, 0; n = 70) and with early-stage AD (Clinical Dementia Rating, 0.5 or 1; n = 70) in the Alzheimer and Memory Program at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Main outcome measures Participants were evaluated with brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), neuropsychological testing, and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry to determine whole-body fat and lean masses. Body mass index was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Results Lean mass was reduced in persons with early AD compared with controls without dementia (F = 7.73; P = .006) after controlling for sex. Whole-brain volume (beta = .20; P Conclusion Loss of lean mass is accelerated in AD and is associated with brain atrophy and cognitive performance, perhaps as a direct or indirect consequence of AD pathophysiology or through shared mechanisms common to both AD and sarcopenia.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Moderate

This is a case-control study of 70 participants. People with early Alzheimer's disease had reduced lean body mass compared with controls without dementia, and lean mass was associated with brain volume and cognitive performance. This describes a body-composition change in early disease and does not show that altering lean mass treats or prevents Alzheimer's disease.

Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Burns, J. M., Johnson, D. K., Watts, A., Swerdlow, R. H., & Brooks, W. M. (2010). Reduced lean mass in early Alzheimer disease and its association with brain atrophy. Archives of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneurol.2010.38

Vancouver

Burns JM, Johnson DK, Watts A, Swerdlow RH, Brooks WM. Reduced lean mass in early Alzheimer disease and its association with brain atrophy. Archives of neurology. 2010. doi:10.1001/archneurol.2010.38. PMID: 20385908.

BibTeX

@article{burns2010-20385908,
  author  = {Burns, J. M. and Johnson, D. K. and Watts, A. and Swerdlow, R. H. and Brooks, W. M.},
  title   = {{Reduced lean mass in early Alzheimer disease and its association with brain atrophy}},
  journal = {Archives of neurology},
  year    = {2010},
  doi     = {10.1001/archneurol.2010.38},
  pmid    = {20385908},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archneurol.2010.38}
}

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How to read this study

Design: this is a case-control study. People with the condition are compared with people without it, looking backward at past exposures. Recall of the past can be uneven between the groups, and the design shows association, not cause.
Size: the record lists 70 participants. Ask whether that is enough for the question, and who they were.
Effect: the record gives no effect size, so the summary above cannot say how large any difference was.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded moderate. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Moderate means the abstract mentions a cohort, case-control or longitudinal design. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

New to reading papers? Six questions to ask of any Alzheimer’s study · how we score.

Key findings

Results Lean mass was reduced in persons with early AD compared with controls without dementia (F = 7.73; P = .006) after controlling for sex.
Whole-brain volume (beta = .20; P Conclusion Loss of lean mass is accelerated in AD and is associated with brain atrophy and cognitive performance, perhaps as a direct or indirect consequence of AD pathophysiology or through shared mechanisms common to both AD and sarcopenia.

Why it matters

People with early Alzheimer's disease had reduced lean body mass compared with controls without dementia, and lean mass was associated with brain volume and cognitive performance. This describes a body-composition change in early disease and does not show that altering lean mass treats or prevents Alzheimer's disease.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Brain scans & tests →

Study details

Study designcase-control study
Participants70
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 61/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a case-control study. Scored zero for effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Archives of neurology)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	Archives of Neurology: journal h-index 353 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	6 / 12	A case-control study
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	1 / 5	2010 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	1 / 4	70 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	6 / 7	Cited 396 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	4 / 5	22.0 citations a year over 18 year(s) since 2010
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 9.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	3 / 6	Cited by 10 other studies in this library
Still being cited	3 / 4	Cited 64 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)
Multicenter collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20385908)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	61 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

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