Each study has a usefulness score out of 100 (rubric version 4.0). Tap a score to see what makes it up.
Highest usefulness score first. Studies without a score come last.
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58/100
We have established a valuable homogeneous single-center cohort which, by identifying groups of variables associated with high risk of MCI or dementia conversion, should help to clarify the early physiopathological mechanisms of AD and should provide avenues for prompt diagnosis and AD prevention.
Why it matters
The Vallecas Project recruited 1,169 non-demented people aged 70 to 85 to characterize the social, clinical, neuropsychological, structural, and biochemical underpinnings of Alzheimer's disease inception. The authors state that by identifying groups of variables associated with high risk of MCI or dementia conversion, the cohort should help clarify early physiopathological mechanisms and provide avenues for prompt diagnosis and prevention.
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Targeted sequencing of confirmed GWAS loci revealed an excess burden of deleterious coding mutations in LOAD, with the greatest burden observed in ABCA7 and BIN1.
Why it matters
This sequencing study found a 3.1-fold enrichment of nonsynonymous mutations in Caucasian late-onset Alzheimer's cases compared with controls, with specific mutations in ABCA7, CD2AP, EPHA1 and BIN1 being significant. It supports the idea that rare coding variants in known risk genes contribute to the disease.
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Interventions that have even quite modest effects at the individual level could drastically reduce the future burden of dementia associated with Alzheimer's disease at the population level.
Why it matters
This review states that some trials of physical activity, cognitive training, or antihypertensive interventions showed some evidence of efficacy on cognitive endpoints, but most had short follow-up and further evidence is needed. It discusses ongoing multidomain interventions and the need for standardized outcome measures.
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58/100
This paper reports findings from a systematic review of the literature on the general public's knowledge and understanding of dementia/Alzheimer's disease.
Why it matters
This systematic review found that the general public had only fair to moderate knowledge and understanding of dementia, with the most common misconception being that dementia is a normal part of aging. It also found that knowledge was particularly poor among racial and ethnic minority groups, and points to the need for more educational and advocacy programmes.
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the cause of more than two-thirds of all dementia cases.
Why it matters
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The text provided does not report the results, so no conclusion about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease can be drawn from it.
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Cerebrospinal fluid and positron emission tomography amyloid-β were measured at baseline in 769 persons [161 healthy controls, 68 subjective memory complaints, 419 mild cognitive impairment and 121 Alzheimer's disease dementia, mean age 72 years (standard deviation 7 years), 47% females] and used to predict diagnosis, APOE ε4 carriage status, cerebral blood flow, cerebrospinal fluid total-tau and phosphorylated-tau levels (cross-sectionally); and hippocampal volume, fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography results and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale scores (longitudinally).
Why it matters
In this study of 769 people, cerebrospinal fluid and PET amyloid-β measures were highly correlated but each still gave partially independent information when predicting diagnosis, APOE ε4 status, hippocampal volume, metabolism, cognition, total-tau and phosphorylated-tau. This suggests that using both types of amyloid-β measurement together may give a fuller picture than either alone, though the study did not test any treatment.
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Although amyloid imaging with PiB-PET ([C-11]Pittsburgh Compound-B positron emission tomography), and now with F-18-labeled tracers, has produced remarkably consistent qualitative findings across a large number of centers, there has been considerable variability in the exact numbers reported as quantitative outcome measures of tracer retention.
Why it matters
The Centiloid Project describes a method to standardize quantitative amyloid imaging measures by scaling outcomes to a 0 to 100 scale. It is a standardization effort for research and does not directly address treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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The effects of antidepressants on mood, cognition and the daily activities of Alzheimer patients are ambiguous.
Why it matters
In this 12-week trial of 59 patients with moderate Alzheimer's disease and depression, sertraline was associated with greater improvement in depression, cognition, and daily activities than venlafaxine or desipramine. This addresses symptom treatment in a small sample and does not show an effect on the underlying disease course.
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Alzheimer's disease causes a progressive dementia that currently affects over 35 million individuals worldwide and is expected to affect 115 million by 2050 (ref. 1).
Why it matters
This study discovered a set of ten lipids in blood that predicted conversion to mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease within 2-3 years with over 90% accuracy. It is a biomarker study for early detection and does not provide a treatment or cure.
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Amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides are the major components of senile plaques, one of the main pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer disease (AD).
Why it matters
This genome-wide meta-analysis of 3 528 healthy older people of European descent looked for genes tied to blood levels of amyloid-beta peptides. No location reached genome-wide significance, but 18 suggestive loci emerged, and in lab experiments the top gene, cortexin 3 (CTXN3), was able to modulate Aβ1-42 secretion. The authors conclude that blood amyloid levels are a useful trait for genetic studies of how amyloid is made, which is groundwork rather than a treatment lead.
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Patient treatment with sertraline was not associated with significantly greater reductions in caregiver distress than placebo treatment.
Why it matters
Sertraline did not give caregivers greater benefit than placebo, though caregivers of patients whose depression went into remission had greater reductions in distress. This concerns caregiver wellbeing in depressed Alzheimer's patients, not treating or preventing the disease itself.
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This review discusses time-dependent models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) that track the temporal evolution of validated pathophysiological biomarkers relative to age of onset, aging, and co-occurring brain pathologies.
Why it matters
Discusses modeling of biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease.
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Less-invasive biomarkers for early Alzheimer disease (AD) are urgently needed.
Why it matters
Researchers compared 107 blood plasma markers in fifty-eight healthy older people and 109 people with Alzheimer's dementia and found a set of 5 proteins that told the groups apart with 89.36% sensitivity and 79.17% specificity. Apolipoprotein E was the only protein that also stood out in an earlier proteomic study. The authors see this as support for a blood test approach to diagnosis, but stress that replicability issues mean more research is needed.
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Self-reported sleep problems may increase the risk for dementia, and depressive symptoms may explain this relationship.
Why it matters
In this longitudinal study of Swedish adults aged 75 and over, reduced sleep was associated with a higher risk of all-cause dementia and of Alzheimer's disease, though the link did not remain after adjusting for depressive symptoms. It is an observational finding about risk, not proof that changing sleep prevents dementia.
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The data indicate that deregulated miRNAs in blood might be used as biomarkers in the diagnosis of AD or other neurological diseases.
Why it matters
This study identified a panel of 12 microRNAs in blood that distinguished Alzheimer's disease patients from controls with high accuracy. These findings concern a possible diagnostic biomarker and do not show any treatment, cure or prevention.
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These findings suggest that DMN fcMRI may prove useful as a biomarker across a wide spectrum of disease, and support the feasibility of DMN fcMRI as a secondary endpoint in upcoming multicenter clinical trials in Alzheimer disease.
Why it matters
In people with inherited mutations causing early Alzheimer disease, brain network connectivity was reduced even before symptoms appeared and worsened with greater impairment. This imaging measure may be useful as a marker in future trials, but it is not itself a treatment or cure.
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As compared with placebo, semagacestat did not improve cognitive status, and patients receiving the higher dose had significant worsening of functional ability.
Why it matters
In a trial of 1537 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease, semagacestat, a gamma-secretase inhibitor, was compared with placebo, and the trial was stopped early. Semagacestat did not improve cognition, the higher dose significantly worsened daily functioning, and it was associated with more adverse events including skin cancers and infections.
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Diffusion imaging is a promising marker of microstructural damage in neurodegenerative disorders, but interpretation of its relationship with underlying neuropathology can be complex.
Why it matters
In this small study of 13 people with mild cognitive impairment who later progressed to Alzheimer's disease, diffusion imaging showed early microstructural abnormalities in the left hippocampus and other brain regions more than 2 years before clinical progression. This is about early detection using imaging, not about treating, curing, or preventing the disease.
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Phenotypic personality dimensions, primarily neuroticism and extraversion, moderate the relationship between APOE [Latin Small Letter Open E]-4 genotype and cognitive outcomes among older adults.
Why it matters
In 602 older adults, the link between carrying the APOE ε4 allele and both cognitive function and Alzheimer disease was evident among those with high levels of neuroticism and extraversion but not among those with low levels of these traits. The authors call for future research to clarify the biological processes behind these personality-genotype interactions.
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Four plasma analytes were consistently associated with the diagnosis of very mild dementia/MCI/AD in 3 independent clinical cohorts.
Why it matters
This study identified four plasma proteins consistently associated with a diagnosis of very mild dementia, MCI or Alzheimer disease across three independent cohorts. It concerns blood-based diagnosis, not treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's.
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LSS treatment may improve episodic memory in AD patients and may be regarded as a clinical option to counteract the cognitive decline typical of the disease.
Why it matters
In this trial of 40 people with early Alzheimer disease, three months of lexical-semantic stimulation significantly improved scores on several memory and language tests compared with unstructured cognitive stimulation. Six months after the treatment stopped, the Mini-Mental State Examination score remained significantly higher than at baseline.
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Our meta-analysis identified similar distributions of neuroanatomical changes in AD and MCI, which are consistent with the hierarchical model of neuropathological alterations of neurofibrillary tangles in AD and MCI.
Why it matters
This meta-analysis of 35 Alzheimer's studies and 24 mild cognitive impairment studies found gray matter loss in the medial temporal lobe and other regions in both conditions, with more severe loss in Alzheimer's. It maps where brain tissue is lost but tests no treatment or prevention.
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Chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 2 (CCR2)-signaling can mediate accumulation of microglia at sites affected by neuroinflammation.
Why it matters
Among 119 people with mild cognitive impairment, those who went on to develop Alzheimer's disease and had higher levels of CCL2 in cerebrospinal fluid declined faster and developed dementia sooner. The authors state that CCL2 could be a candidate biomarker for predicting disease progression if these results are confirmed in future studies.
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The new criteria for AD are presented in three documents.
Why it matters
These revised guidelines add biomarkers and formal disease stages to Alzheimer's diagnosis and separate the underlying disease process from its clinical symptoms. They are diagnostic criteria only and do not provide a treatment or cure.
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In this exploratory study, SB-742457 and donepezil were associated with improvements in global function.
Why it matters
In this exploratory 24-week study of 196 participants with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer disease, both SB-742457 and donepezil were associated with improvements in global function, but treatment effects on cognition for both were smaller than those previously observed in earlier donepezil studies. All treatments were generally safe and well tolerated.
From across this topic
10 of the 5,172 studies in this topic, picked by a fixed rule (a hash of each study's address), not by score or date; each page of this list shows a different 10. The same 10 appear here every time.
- Neuroimaging predictors of brain amyloidosis in mild cognitive impairment
- Clinical Significance of the Plasma Biomarker Panels in Amyloid-Negative and Tau PET-Positive Amnestic Patients: Comparisons with Alzheimer's Disease and Unimpaired Cognitive Controls
- Impact of preanalytical delay on the performance of plasma Aβ42, Aβ42/40, p‐tau217, and p‐tau217/Aβ42 in detecting brain amyloidosis in the ALZAN cohort
- Early-Onset Alzheimer Disease
- Alzheimer disease as a vascular disorder: nosological evidence
- Combined with multimodal medical imaging and artificial intelligence for early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease
- Global rural health disparities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: State of the science
- Alzheimer's disease transcriptional landscape in ex vivo human microglia
- Alzheimer's disease amyloid beta-protein and synaptic function
- Anti-amyloid antibody equilibrium binding to Aβ aggregates from human Alzheimer disease brain