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The gut microbiota-derived metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide is elevated in Alzheimer's disease
Vogt NM, Romano KA, Darst BF, Engelman CD, Johnson SC, Carlsson CM, Asthana S, Blennow K et al.. Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2018-12-22
Topic: Gut, metabolism and diet
Background Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a small molecule produced by the metaorganismal metabolism of dietary choline, has been implicated in human disease pathogenesis, including known risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD), such as metabolic, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular disease. Methods In this study, we tested whether TMAO is linked to AD by examining TMAO levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collected from a large sample (n = 410) of individuals with Alzheimer's clinical syndrome (n = 40), individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n = 35), and cognitively-unimpaired individuals (n = 335). Linear regression analyses were used to determine differences in CSF TMAO between groups (controlling for age, sex, and APOE ε4 genotype), as well as to determine relationships between CSF TMAO and CSF biomarkers of AD (phosphorylated tau and beta-amyloid) and neuronal degeneration (total tau, neurogranin, and neurofilament light chain protein). Results CSF TMAO is higher in individuals with MCI and AD dementia compared to cognitively-unimpaired individuals, and elevated CSF TMAO is associated with biomarkers of AD pathology (phosphorylated tau and phosphorylated tau/Aβ 42 ) and neuronal degeneration (total tau and neurofilament light chain protein). Conclusions These findings provide additional insight into gut microbial involvement in AD and add to the growing understanding of the gut-brain axis.
Key findings
- Results CSF TMAO is higher in individuals with MCI and AD dementia compared to cognitively-unimpaired individuals, and elevated CSF TMAO is associated with biomarkers of AD pathology (phosphorylated tau and phosphorylated tau/Aβ 42 ) and neuronal degeneration (total tau and neurofilament light chain protein).
- Conclusions These findings provide additional insight into gut microbial involvement in AD and add to the growing understanding of the gut-brain axis.
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Study details
- Participants410
- 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 and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 29 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 50 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer's research & therapy) |
| 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 | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 410 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 30579367) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 29 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 29 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 50 out of 100. |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Vogt, N. M., Romano, K. A., Darst, B. F., Engelman, C. D., Johnson, S. C., Carlsson, C. M., et al. (2018). The gut microbiota-derived metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide is elevated in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's research & therapy. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-018-0451-2
Vancouver
Vogt NM, Romano KA, Darst BF, Engelman CD, Johnson SC, Carlsson CM, et al. The gut microbiota-derived metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide is elevated in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's research & therapy. 2018. doi:10.1186/s13195-018-0451-2. PMID: 30579367.
BibTeX
@article{vogt2018-30579367,
author = {Vogt, N. M. and Romano, K. A. and Darst, B. F. and Engelman, C. D. and Johnson, S. C. and Carlsson, C. M. and Asthana, S. and Blennow, K. and others},
title = {{The gut microbiota-derived metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide is elevated in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Alzheimer's research \& therapy},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1186/s13195-018-0451-2},
pmid = {30579367},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-018-0451-2}
}
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