Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34057297›Full record

SynthesisAlzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association2021

Bayes analysis supports null hypothesis of anti-amyloid beta therapy in Alzheimer's disease.

Edo Richard, Melina G H E den Brok, Willem A van Gool

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
5.4field-weighted citation impact, top 3% 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

23 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Bayes analysis supports null hypothesis of anti-amyloid beta therapy in Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2021
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  10. Estimated effects of amyloid reduction on cognitive change: A Bayesian update across a range of priors.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2024
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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

3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Edo RichardDepartment of Neurology, Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Melina G H E den BrokDepartment of Neurology, Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Willem A van GoolDepartment of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, AMC, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Amsterdam University Medical Centers · NLRadboud University Medical Center · NLUniversity of Amsterdam · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Numerous clinical trials of anti-amyloid beta (Aβ) immunotherapy in Alzheimer's disease have been performed. None of these have provided convincing evidence for beneficial effects. Using traditional frequentist meta-analysis, the conclusion is that there is absence of evidence for a therapeutic effect, with a point estimate effect size of 0.05 (95% confidence interval -0.00 to 0.10, P = .055). In addition, this non-significant effect equates to 0.4 points per year on the cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale. This is well below the minimally clinically important difference. Bayesian meta-analysis of these trial data provides strong evidence of absence of a therapeutic effect, with a Bayes factor of 11.27 in favor of the null hypothesis, opposed to a Bayes factor of 0.09 in favor of a treatment effect. Bayesian analysis is particularly valuable in this context of repeatedly reported small, non-significant effect sizes in individual trials. Mechanisms other than removal of Aβ from the brain may be probed to slow progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Indexed as

Bayes TheoremImmunotherapyRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicAlzheimer DiseaseAmyloid beta-PeptidesHumansAmyloid beta-PeptidesAlzheimer's diseaseanti-amyloid beta immunotherapyBayesian analysisdementiaevidence of absencemeta-analysisrandomized controlled trial

Identifiers

PMID34057297
PMCPMC8251763
OpenAlexW3165543316

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.