Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33845398›Full record

ArticleNeurobiology of aging2021

Astrogliosis and episodic memory in late life: higher GFAP is related to worse memory and white matter microstructure in healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease.

Brianne M Bettcher, Kaitlin E Olson, Nichole E Carlson, Brice V McConnell, Tim Boyd, Vanesa Adame, D Adriana Solano, Paige Anton, Neil Markham, Ashesh A Thaker and 4 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neurobiology of aging, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
53citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
5.0field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

53 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 76 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. A phase 2A/B randomized trial of metabolic modulators intranasal insulin and empagliflozin for MCI and early AD.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025
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  9. Observational
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  11. [Current status and future perspectives on age-related hearing loss and cognitive impairment].Lin chuang er bi yan hou tou jing wai ke za zhi = Journal of clinical otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery · 2026
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Brianne M BettcherDepartment of Neurology, Behavioral Neurology Section, University of Colorado Alzheimer's & Cognition Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA. Electronic address: Brianne.bettcher@cuanschutz.edu.
Kaitlin E OlsonDepartment of Biostatistics and Informatics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Nichole E CarlsonDepartment of Biostatistics and Informatics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Brice V McConnellDepartment of Neurology, Behavioral Neurology Section, University of Colorado Alzheimer's & Cognition Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Tim BoydDepartment of Neurology, University of Colorado Alzheimer's & Cognition Center, Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Vanesa AdameDepartment of Neurology, University of Colorado Alzheimer's & Cognition Center, Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
D Adriana SolanoDepartment of Neurology, University of Colorado Alzheimer's & Cognition Center, Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Paige AntonDepartment of Neurology, University of Colorado Alzheimer's & Cognition Center, Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Neil MarkhamDepartment of Neurology, University of Colorado Alzheimer's & Cognition Center, Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Ashesh A ThakerDepartment of Radiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Alexandria M JensenDepartment of Biostatistics and Informatics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Erika N DallmannDepartment of Neurology, Behavioral Neurology Section, University of Colorado Alzheimer's & Cognition Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Huntington PotterDepartment of Neurology, University of Colorado Alzheimer's & Cognition Center, Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Christina CoughlanDepartment of Neurology, University of Colorado Alzheimer's & Cognition Center, Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus · US

Funding

NIH Prior Approval Process ProfessionalUL1TR002535 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI SOKOL, RONALD J. · 2018 to 2022
$51.1M
Phase II trial of GM-CSF/sargramostim in Alzheimer's DiseaseR01AG071151 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI Huntington Potter · 2021 to 2026
$7.5M
Investigating the Contribution of Peripheral versus Central Nervous System Immune Dysfunction to Cognitive AgingR01AG058772 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI BETTCHER, BRIANNE MAGOUIRK · 2019 to 2023
$3.7M
3T MRIS10OD018435 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI TREGELLAS, JASON R · 2014 to 2014
$2.0M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR002535NIA NIH HHS R01 AG058772NIA NIH HHS R01 AG071151NIH HHS S10 OD018435
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Astrocytes play a formative role in memory consolidation during physiological conditions; when dysregulated, astrocytes release glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), which has been linked with negative memory outcomes in animal studies. We examined the association between blood GFAP, memory, and white matter (WM) integrity, accounting for blood markers of AD pathology (i.e., Aβ42) and neurodegeneration (i.e., total tau; neurofilament light chain) in 114 older adults (asymptomatic, n = 69; MCI/AD dementia, n = 45). Higher levels of GFAP were associated with lower memory scores (p < 0.0001), such that for 1 SD increase in mean GFAP values, the memory composite score decreased on average by 0.49 (Standard error = 0.071). These results remained significant after controlling for diagnostic status and AD-related blood biomarkers. Higher GFAP was also related to lower WM integrity in regions vulnerable to AD pathology; however, WM integrity did not account for the association between GFAP and memory. Study findings suggest that higher blood levels of a marker of astrogliosis may reflect impoverished memory functions and white matter health, independent of markers of amyloid or neurodegeneration.

Indexed as

Memory, EpisodicAgedAged, 80 and overAlzheimer DiseaseAstrocytesBiomarkersFemaleGlial Fibrillary Acidic ProteinGliosisHealthy AgingHumansMaleMiddle AgedWhite MatterBiomarkersGFAP protein, humanGlial Fibrillary Acidic ProteinAgingAlzheimer's diseaseAstrocytesAstrogliosisMemory

Identifiers

PMID33845398
PMCPMC8313091
OpenAlexW3135374576

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.