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68/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 68 out of 100. Genetics

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Plain-language summary

Objective To investigate the association of triglyceride (TG) principal component scores with Alzheimer disease (AD) and the amyloid, tau, neurodegeneration, and cerebrovascular disease (A/T/N/V) biomarkers for AD. Methods Serum levels of 84 TG species were measured with untargeted lipid profiling of 689 participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohort, including 190 cognitively normal older adults (CN), 339 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 160 with AD. Principal component analysis with factor rotation was used for dimension reduction of TG species. Differences in principal components between diagnostic groups and associations between principal components and AD biomarkers (including CSF, MRI and [ 18 F]fluorodeoxyglucose-PET) were assessed with a generalized linear model approach. In both cases, the Bonferroni method of adjustment was used to correct for multiple comparisons. Results The 84 TGs yielded 9 principal components, 2 of which, consisting of long-chain, polyunsaturated fatty acid-containing TGs (PUTGs), were significantly associated with MCI and AD. Lower levels of PUTGs were observed in MCI and AD compared to CN. PUTG principal component scores were also significantly associated with hippocampal volume and entorhinal cortical thickness. In participants carrying the APOE ε4 allele, these principal components were significantly associated with CSF β-amyloid 1-42 values and entorhinal cortical thickness. Conclusion This study shows that PUTG component scores were significantly associated with diagnostic group and AD biomarkers, a finding that was more pronounced in APOE ε4 carriers. Replication in independent larger studies and longitudinal follow-up are warranted.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Moderate

This is a follow-up (cohort) study of 689 participants. These were also linked to hippocampal volume and entorhinal cortical thickness on MRI, and, in APOE ε4 carriers, to spinal-fluid β-amyloid 1-42. This is an observational, one-time-point comparison of specific lipid species: it does not show that blood fats cause Alzheimer's or that changing diet or triglyceride levels would affect it.

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

Bernath, M. M., Bhattacharyya, S., Nho, K., Barupal, D. K., Fiehn, O., Baillie, R., et al. (2020). Serum triglycerides in Alzheimer disease: Relation to neuroimaging and CSF biomarkers. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000009436

Vancouver

Bernath MM, Bhattacharyya S, Nho K, Barupal DK, Fiehn O, Baillie R, et al. Serum triglycerides in Alzheimer disease: Relation to neuroimaging and CSF biomarkers. Neurology. 2020. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000009436. PMID: 32358220.

BibTeX

@article{bernath2020-32358220,
  author  = {Bernath, M. M. and Bhattacharyya, S. and Nho, K. and Barupal, D. K. and Fiehn, O. and Baillie, R. and Risacher, S. L. and Arnold, M. and others},
  title   = {{Serum triglycerides in Alzheimer disease: Relation to neuroimaging and CSF biomarkers}},
  journal = {Neurology},
  year    = {2020},
  doi     = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000009436},
  pmid    = {32358220},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000009436}
}

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How to read this study

Design: this is a follow-up (cohort) study. People are observed over time and not assigned to anything, so an association can reflect other differences between groups. Look at how long follow-up lasted, how many dropped out, and whether the authors adjusted for age, education and other health conditions.
Size: the record lists 689 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.

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Key findings

Results The 84 TGs yielded 9 principal components, 2 of which, consisting of long-chain, polyunsaturated fatty acid-containing TGs (PUTGs), were significantly associated with MCI and AD.
Lower levels of PUTGs were observed in MCI and AD compared to CN.
PUTG principal component scores were also significantly associated with hippocampal volume and entorhinal cortical thickness.
In participants carrying the APOE ε4 allele, these principal components were significantly associated with CSF β-amyloid 1-42 values and entorhinal cortical thickness.
Conclusion This study shows that PUTG component scores were significantly associated with diagnostic group and AD biomarkers, a finding that was more pronounced in APOE ε4 carriers.

Why it matters

In blood samples from 689 older adults in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, two groupings of triglycerides built from long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids were lower in people with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease than in cognitively normal people. These were also linked to hippocampal volume and entorhinal cortical thickness on MRI, and, in APOE ε4 carriers, to spinal-fluid β-amyloid 1-42. This is an observational, one-time-point comparison of specific lipid species: it does not show that blood fats cause Alzheimer's or that changing diet or triglyceride levels would affect it.

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Study details

Study designlongitudinal study
Participants689
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 randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

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	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	2 / 5	2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	2 / 4	689 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	5 / 7	Cited 114 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	14.2 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 9.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 7 other studies in this library
Still being cited	3 / 4	Cited 53 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Andrew J. Saykin: h-index 154 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	University of California, San Francisco: institution h-index 1,915 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	3 / 3	OpenAlex lists 11 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32358220)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	68 / 100	—

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