Home › Research › Brain scans and imaging
Sex differences in interacting genetic and functional connectivity biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease
Jordan N Williamson, Shirley A James, Sean P Mullen, Bradley P Sutton, Tracey Wszalek, Beni Mulyana, Peter Mukli, Andriy Yabluchanskiy et al.. GeroScience, 2024-04-10
Topic: Genetics and APOE
As of 2023, it is estimated that 6.7 million individuals in the United States live with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Prior research indicates that AD disproportionality affects females; females have a greater incidence rate, perform worse on a variety of neuropsychological tasks, and have greater total brain atrophy. Recent research shows that hippocampal functional connectivity differs by sex and may be related to the observed sex differences in AD, and apolipoprotein E (ApoE) ε4 carriers have reduced hippocampal functional connectivity. The purpose of this study was to determine if the ApoE genotype plays a role in the observed sex differences in hippocampal functional connectivity in Alzheimer's disease. The resting state fMRI and T2 MRI of individuals with AD (n = 30, female = 15) and cognitively normal individuals (n = 30, female = 15) from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) were analyzed using the functional connectivity toolbox (CONN). Our results demonstrated intrahippocampal functional connectivity differed between those without an ε4 allele and those with at least one ε4 allele in each group. Additionally, intrahippocampal functional connectivity differed only by sex when Alzheimer's participants had at least one ε4 allele. These results improve our current understanding of the role of the interacting relationship between sex, ApoE genotype, and hippocampal function in AD. Understanding these biomarkers may aid in the development of sex-specific interventions for improved AD treatment.
Key findings
- Prior research indicates that AD disproportionality affects females; females have a greater incidence rate, perform worse on a variety of neuropsychological tasks, and have greater total brain atrophy.
- Our results demonstrated intrahippocampal functional connectivity differed between those without an ε4 allele and those with at least one ε4 allele in each group.
- These results improve our current understanding of the role of the interacting relationship between sex, ApoE genotype, and hippocampal function in AD.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Brain scans & tests →
Study details
- Participants30
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 50/100
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, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 28 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 50 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (GeroScience) |
| 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 | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” 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 | 1 / 4 | 30 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 38598069) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 28 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 28 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 50 out of 100. |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Williamson, J. N., James, S. A., Mullen, S. P., Sutton, B. P., Wszalek, T., Mulyana, B., et al. (2024). Sex differences in interacting genetic and functional connectivity biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease. GeroScience. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-024-01151-x
Vancouver
Williamson JN, James SA, Mullen SP, Sutton BP, Wszalek T, Mulyana B, et al. Sex differences in interacting genetic and functional connectivity biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease. GeroScience. 2024. doi:10.1007/s11357-024-01151-x. PMID: 38598069.
BibTeX
@article{williamson2024-38598069,
author = {Williamson, Jordan N and James, Shirley A and Mullen, Sean P and Sutton, Bradley P and Wszalek, Tracey and Mulyana, Beni and Mukli, Peter and Yabluchanskiy, Andriy and others},
title = {{Sex differences in interacting genetic and functional connectivity biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {GeroScience},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1007/s11357-024-01151-x},
pmid = {38598069},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-024-01151-x}
}
Related studies in Brain scans and imaging
Also tagged “genetics”
346 studies in the library carry the topic tag “genetics”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 346 tagged studies.