Home › Research › Brain scans and imaging
Vascular risk and Aβ interact to reduce cortical thickness in AD vulnerable brain regions
Villeneuve S, Reed BR, Madison CM, Wirth M, Marchant NL, Kriger S, Mack WJ, Sanossian N et al.. Neurology, 2014-06-06
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Objective The objective of this study was to define whether vascular risk factors interact with β-amyloid (Aβ) in producing changes in brain structure that could underlie the increased risk of Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods Sixty-six cognitively normal and mildly impaired older individuals with a wide range of vascular risk factors were included in this study. The presence of Aβ was assessed using [(11)C]Pittsburgh compound B-PET imaging, and cortical thickness was measured using 3-tesla MRI. Vascular risk was measured with the Framingham Coronary Risk Profile Index. Results Individuals with high levels of vascular risk factors have thinner frontotemporal cortex independent of Aβ. These frontotemporal regions are also affected in individuals with Aβ deposition, but the latter show additional thinning in parietal cortices. Aβ and vascular risk were found to interact in posterior (especially in parietal) brain regions, where Aβ has its greatest effect. In this way, the negative effect of Aβ in posterior regions is increased by the presence of vascular risk. Conclusion Aβ and vascular risk interact to enhance cortical thinning in posterior brain regions that are particularly vulnerable to AD. These findings give insight concerning the mechanisms whereby vascular risk increases the likelihood of developing AD and supports the therapeutic intervention of controlling vascular risk for the prevention of AD.
Key findings
- Objective The objective of this study was to define whether vascular risk factors interact with β-amyloid (Aβ) in producing changes in brain structure that could underlie the increased risk of Alzheimer disease (AD).
- Results Individuals with high levels of vascular risk factors have thinner frontotemporal cortex independent of Aβ.
- These findings give insight concerning the mechanisms whereby vascular risk increases the likelihood of developing AD and supports the therapeutic intervention of controlling vascular risk for the prevention of AD.
Why it matters
In 66 older people with varying vascular risk, high vascular risk and amyloid deposits appeared to interact to produce thinner cortex in brain regions vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease. This is an observational study and does not prove that controlling vascular risk prevents dementia, though it supports further investigation.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Brain scans & tests →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 49/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (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 | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 87 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 6.2 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 11 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 8 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author William J. Jagust: h-index 152 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, Berkeley: institution h-index 2,012 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24907234) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 49 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000000550
- PubMed: 24907234
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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.
APA 7th
Villeneuve, S., Reed, B. R., Madison, C. M., Wirth, M., Marchant, N. L., Kriger, S., et al. (2014). Vascular risk and Aβ interact to reduce cortical thickness in AD vulnerable brain regions. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000000550
Vancouver
Villeneuve S, Reed BR, Madison CM, Wirth M, Marchant NL, Kriger S, et al. Vascular risk and Aβ interact to reduce cortical thickness in AD vulnerable brain regions. Neurology. 2014. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000000550. PMID: 24907234.
BibTeX
@article{villeneuve2014-24907234,
author = {Villeneuve, S. and Reed, B. R. and Madison, C. M. and Wirth, M. and Marchant, N. L. and Kriger, S. and Mack, W. J. and Sanossian, N. and others},
title = {{Vascular risk and Aβ interact to reduce cortical thickness in AD vulnerable brain regions}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000000550},
pmid = {24907234},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000000550}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Later studies that cite this one
11 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Brain scans and imaging
Also tagged “cerebral”
900 studies in the library carry the topic tag “cerebral”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 900 tagged studies.