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Sex-specific brain reserve and progression from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease dementia
Xulin Liu, Sterre C M de Boer, Maria Carmela Tartaglia, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2026-10
Topic: Plasma and spinal-fluid biomarkers
Females with MCI exhibited greater baseline GMV than males primarily in the thalamus, caudate, cerebellum, postcentral gyrus, and middle cingulate gyrus, with no differences at the AD stage. Despite this, females exhibited higher baseline GAP-43, greater tau burden in temporal and parietal regions, and more rapid annual hippocampal atrophy. Conversion rates were similar. Findings suggest that females may tolerate greater pathology at early stages but experience faster neurodegeneration later, supporting sex-specific disease trajectories and highlighting the need for sex-informed biomarkers.
Key findings
- Females with MCI exhibited greater baseline GMV than males primarily in the thalamus, caudate, cerebellum, postcentral gyrus, and middle cingulate gyrus, with no differences at the AD stage.
- Despite this, females exhibited higher baseline GAP-43, greater tau burden in temporal and parietal regions, and more rapid annual hippocampal atrophy.
- Findings suggest that females may tolerate greater pathology at early stages but experience faster neurodegeneration later, supporting sex-specific disease trajectories and highlighting the need for sex-informed biomarkers.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants593
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 73/100
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. 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 41 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 73 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| 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 | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 593 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 42869847) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 41 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 41 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 73 out of 100. |
| Total | 73 / 100 | — |
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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APA 7th
Liu, X., de Boer, S. C. M., Tartaglia, M. C., & Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. (2026). Sex-specific brain reserve and progression from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease dementia. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71913
Vancouver
Liu X, de Boer SCM, Tartaglia MC, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Sex-specific brain reserve and progression from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease dementia. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2026. doi:10.1002/alz.71913. PMID: 42869847.
BibTeX
@article{liu2026-42869847,
author = {Liu, Xulin and de Boer, Sterre C M and Tartaglia, Maria Carmela and {Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative}},
title = {{Sex-specific brain reserve and progression from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease dementia}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1002/alz.71913},
pmid = {42869847},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71913}
}