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51/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 51 out of 100. Biomarkers

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Plain-language summary

There is growing evidence that cognitive decline can be affected by both nutritional aspects and inflammation. Plasma neurodegenerative biomarkers stand out as minimally invasive useful measures to monitor the potential risk of cognitive decline. This study aimed to investigate the associations between biomarkers of neurodegeneration, nutrition, and inflammation among community-dwelling older adults, and to verify if associations differed according to apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 status. This cross-sectional analysis included 475 participants ≥70 years old from the Multidomain Alzheimer Preventive Trial (MAPT), mean age 76.8 years (SD = 4.5), 59.4% women. Biomarkers of neurodegeneration (plasma amyloid-β 42/40-Aβ 42/40, neurofilament light chain-NfL, progranulin), nutrition (erythrocyte docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, omega-3 index; plasma homocysteine-Hcy, 25 hydroxyvitamin D), inflammation (plasma tumor necrosis factor receptor 1-TNFR-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1-MCP-1, interleukin 6-IL-6), and cellular stress (plasma growth differentiation factor 15-GDF-15) were assessed. Linear regression analyses were performed to investigate the associations between nutritional and inflammatory biomarkers (independent variables) and neurodegenerative biomarkers (dependent variables), with adjustments for age, sex, education, body mass index, physical activity, allocation to MAPT groups, and APOE ε4 status. After adjusting for confounders, Aβ 42/40 was not associated with nutritional or inflammatory markers. NfL was positively associated with GDF-15, TNFR-1, IL-6, and Hcy. Progranulin was positively associated with GDF-15, TNFR-1, and MCP-1. Analyses restricted to APOE ε4 carriers (n = 116; 26.9%) or noncarriers were mostly similar. Our cross-sectional study with community-dwelling older adults corroborates previous evidence that inflammatory pathways are associated to plasma markers of neurodegeneration. Clinical Trials Registration Number: NCT00672685.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Low

This is a cross-sectional study of 116 participants. Among community-dwelling older adults, plasma NfL was associated with markers of inflammation and cellular stress, while amyloid ratio was not associated with nutritional or inflammatory markers. Reported effect size: 59.4%; 26.9%.

Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.

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

APA 7th

Giudici, K. V., de Souto Barreto, P., Guyonnet, S., Morley, J. E., Nguyen, A. D., Aggarwal, G., et al. (2023). TNFR-1 and GDF-15 Are Associated With Plasma Neurofilament Light Chain and Progranulin Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis of the MAPT Study. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glac244

Vancouver

Giudici KV, de Souto Barreto P, Guyonnet S, Morley JE, Nguyen AD, Aggarwal G, et al. TNFR-1 and GDF-15 Are Associated With Plasma Neurofilament Light Chain and Progranulin Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis of the MAPT Study. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. 2023. doi:10.1093/gerona/glac244. PMID: 36508390.

BibTeX

@article{giudici2023-36508390,
  author  = {Giudici, K. V. and de Souto Barreto, P. and Guyonnet, S. and Morley, J. E. and Nguyen, A. D. and Aggarwal, G. and Parini, A. and Li, Y. and others},
  title   = {{TNFR-1 and GDF-15 Are Associated With Plasma Neurofilament Light Chain and Progranulin Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis of the MAPT Study}},
  journal = {The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences},
  year    = {2023},
  doi     = {10.1093/gerona/glac244},
  pmid    = {36508390},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glac244}
}

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.

How to read this study

Design: this is a cross-sectional study. Everyone is measured once, so it cannot show which came first. Read it as a snapshot of how two things go together at one moment.
Size: the record lists 116 participants. Ask whether that is enough for the question, and who they were.
Effect: the record reports “59.4%; 26.9%”. A statistically significant result can still be small in daily life.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded low. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Low means the abstract matched neither pattern. It is the default label, and it does not mean the work is poor; many sound lab and imaging papers land here. 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.

New to reading papers? Six questions to ask of any Alzheimer’s study · how we score.

Key findings

After adjusting for confounders, Aβ 42/40 was not associated with nutritional or inflammatory markers.
NfL was positively associated with GDF-15, TNFR-1, IL-6, and Hcy.
Progranulin was positively associated with GDF-15, TNFR-1, and MCP-1.

Why it matters

Among community-dwelling older adults, plasma NfL was associated with markers of inflammation and cellular stress, while amyloid ratio was not associated with nutritional or inflammatory markers. This is about understanding relationships between blood markers, not about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Blood tests & biomarkers →

Study details

Study designcross-sectional
Participants116
Effect size59.4%; 26.9%
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 51/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	The Journals of Gerontology Series A: journal h-index 274 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	4 / 12	A snapshot of people at one point in time
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	3 / 5	2023 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	2 / 4	116 participants
Effect reported	2 / 3	Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	2 / 7	Cited 14 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	1 / 5	2.8 citations a year over 5 year(s) since 2023
Impact for its field and year	2 / 6	Cited 1.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 3 other studies in this library
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 13 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	1 / 4	Last-listed author Sylvie Chaillou: h-index 10 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Inserm: institution h-index 1,988 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	3 / 3	OpenAlex lists 15 institution(s) in 4 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 36508390)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	51 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

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Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).

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