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The Association Between Circulating Inflammatory Markers and the Progression of Alzheimer Disease in Norwegian Memory Clinic Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment or Dementia
Hazen J, Vistnes M, Barca ML, Eldholm RS, Persson K, Brækhus A, Saltvedt I, Selbæk G et al.. Alzheimer disease and associated disorders, 2020-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective Neuroinflammation may play an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of Alzheimer disease (AD). The aim of the present study was to detect whether increased inflammatory activity at baseline could predict cognitive and functional decline in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) or AD dementia after 2 years. Methods Serum samples from 242 memory clinic patients with an aMCI (n=88) or AD dementia (n=154) were analyzed for C-reactive protein and for 14 other inflammatory markers [interleukin (IL)-1β, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p40, IL-17a, IL-18, IL-22, IL-33, tumor necrosis factor, cluster of differentiation 40 ligand, interferon-γ, chemokine ligand (CCL) 2, and CCL4] by bead-based multiplex immunoassay. Disease progression was measured by the annual increase in the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) and annual decrease in the score on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results No association between increased levels of the inflammatory markers and change on the CDR-SB or MMSE score was found, but there was a significant difference in baseline IL-6 and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist levels between aMCI and AD dementia groups. Conclusion Increased levels of inflammatory markers were not associated with faster progression as measured by the annual change on the CDR-SB or MMSE score.
Key findings
- Results No association between increased levels of the inflammatory markers and change on the CDR-SB or MMSE score was found, but there was a significant difference in baseline IL-6 and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist levels between aMCI and AD dementia groups.
- Conclusion Increased levels of inflammatory markers were not associated with faster progression as measured by the annual change on the CDR-SB or MMSE score.
Why it matters
Researchers measured C-reactive protein and 14 other inflammation markers in the blood of 242 Norwegian memory clinic patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's dementia, then followed them for 2 years. Higher inflammation markers did not predict faster decline on standard memory and dementia rating scales. This suggests these blood inflammation markers may not be useful for forecasting how quickly the disease will progress.
Study details
- Participants88
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 41/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer disease and associated disorders) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders: journal h-index 131 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| 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 | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 88 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 | 3 / 7 | Cited 20 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 2.5 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 10 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Anne‐Brita Knapskog: h-index 27 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Utrecht University: institution h-index 1,157 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 11 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31414991) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 41 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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APA 7th
Hazen, J., Vistnes, M., Barca, M. L., Eldholm, R. S., Persson, K., Brækhus, A., et al. (2020). The Association Between Circulating Inflammatory Markers and the Progression of Alzheimer Disease in Norwegian Memory Clinic Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment or Dementia. Alzheimer disease and associated disorders. https://doi.org/10.1097/wad.0000000000000342
Vancouver
Hazen J, Vistnes M, Barca ML, Eldholm RS, Persson K, Brækhus A, et al. The Association Between Circulating Inflammatory Markers and the Progression of Alzheimer Disease in Norwegian Memory Clinic Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment or Dementia. Alzheimer disease and associated disorders. 2020. doi:10.1097/wad.0000000000000342. PMID: 31414991.
BibTeX
@article{hazen2020-31414991,
author = {Hazen, J. and Vistnes, M. and Barca, M. L. and Eldholm, R. S. and Persson, K. and Brækhus, A. and Saltvedt, I. and Selbæk, G. and others},
title = {{The Association Between Circulating Inflammatory Markers and the Progression of Alzheimer Disease in Norwegian Memory Clinic Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment or Dementia}},
journal = {Alzheimer disease and associated disorders},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1097/wad.0000000000000342},
pmid = {31414991},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/wad.0000000000000342}
}
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