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69/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 69 out of 100. Mild cognitive impairment

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Plain-language summary

Whether mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has a distinct neuropathological profile that reflects an intermediate state between no cognitive impairment and dementia is not clear. Identifying which biological events occur at the earliest stage of progressive disease and which are secondary to the neuropathological process is important for understating pathological pathways and for targeted disease prevention. Many studies have now reported on the neurobiology of this intermediate stage. In this systematic review, we synthesize current evidence on the neuropathological profile of MCI. A total of 162 studies were identified with varied definition of MCI, settings ranging from population to specialist clinics and a wide range of objectives. From these studies, it is clear that MCI is neuropathologically complex and cannot be understood within a single framework. Pathological changes identified include plaque and tangle formation, vascular pathologies, neurochemical deficits, cellular injury, inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial changes, changes in genomic activity, synaptic dysfunction, disturbed protein metabolism and disrupted metabolic homeostasis. Determining which factors primarily drive neurodegeneration and dementia and which are secondary features of disease progression still requires further research. Standardization of the definition of MCI and reporting of pathology would greatly assist in building an integrated picture of the clinical and neuropathological profile of MCI.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Stephan, B. C., Hunter, S., Harris, D., Llewellyn, D. J., Siervo, M., Matthews, F. E., et al. (2012). The neuropathological profile of mild cognitive impairment (MCI): a systematic review. Molecular psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2011.147

Vancouver

Stephan BC, Hunter S, Harris D, Llewellyn DJ, Siervo M, Matthews FE, et al. The neuropathological profile of mild cognitive impairment (MCI): a systematic review. Molecular psychiatry. 2012. doi:10.1038/mp.2011.147. PMID: 22143004.

BibTeX

@article{stephan2012-22143004,
  author  = {Stephan, B. C. and Hunter, S. and Harris, D. and Llewellyn, D. J. and Siervo, M. and Matthews, F. E. and Brayne, C.},
  title   = {{The neuropathological profile of mild cognitive impairment (MCI): a systematic review}},
  journal = {Molecular psychiatry},
  year    = {2012},
  doi     = {10.1038/mp.2011.147},
  pmid    = {22143004},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2011.147}
}

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 names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

How to read this study

Design: this is a pooled review. It combines earlier studies, so it is only as good as the studies it pools. Check how many were included, whether they were similar enough to combine, and whether the authors report inconsistency between them.
Size: the record lists 162 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 high. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. High means the abstract mentions a randomized design, a meta-analysis or a systematic review. 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

A total of 162 studies were identified with varied definition of MCI, settings ranging from population to specialist clinics and a wide range of objectives.
From these studies, it is clear that MCI is neuropathologically complex and cannot be understood within a single framework.
Pathological changes identified include plaque and tangle formation, vascular pathologies, neurochemical deficits, cellular injury, inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial changes, changes in genomic activity, synaptic dysfunction, disturbed protein metabolism and disrupted metabolic homeostasis.
Determining which factors primarily drive neurodegeneration and dementia and which are secondary features of disease progression still requires further research.
Standardization of the definition of MCI and reporting of pathology would greatly assist in building an integrated picture of the clinical and neuropathological profile of MCI.

Why it matters

This systematic review of 162 studies found that mild cognitive impairment is neuropathologically complex, involving plaque and tangle formation, vascular pathologies, inflammation, oxidative stress and other changes, and cannot be understood within a single framework. It identifies what still requires further research and offers no treatment, cure or prevention.

Study details

Study designsystematic review
Participants162
Evidence strengthHigh

How this study scored 69/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a systematic review of all the studies on the question. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Molecular psychiatry)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	Molecular Psychiatry: journal h-index 318 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	12 / 12	A systematic review of all the studies on the question
Strength of evidence	5 / 5	Rated “high” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	2 / 4	162 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	A review of other studies — randomization is not credited here
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 141 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	8.8 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012
Impact for its field and year	2 / 6	Cited 1.2× 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	2 / 4	Cited 31 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Carol Brayne: h-index 159 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	University of Cambridge: institution h-index 1,973 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 2 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22143004)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	69 / 100	—

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