Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38760856›Full record

ArticleImmunity & ageing : I & A2024

The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio associates with markers of Alzheimer's disease pathology in cognitively unimpaired elderly people.

Tovia Jacobs, Sean R Jacobson, Juan Fortea, Jeffrey S Berger, Alok Vedvyas, Karyn Marsh, Tianshe He, Eugenio Gutierrez-Jimenez, Nathanael R Fillmore, Moses Gonzalez and 15 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Immunity & ageing : I & A, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

21 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Review
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  4. Article
  5. Immune dysfunction in Alzheimer disease.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026
    Review
  6. The spleen-brain axis in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: Integrating immune and metabolic regulation.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Peripheral inflammation in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3: associations with genetic and clinical manifestations.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2025
    Article
  14. Article
  15. The role of autoantibodies in Alzheimer's disease: Pathogenetic connections or epiphenomena?Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025
    Review
  16. Article
  17. Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in the Alzheimer's Disease Continuum.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

25 authors.

Tovia JacobsDepartment of Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, Division of Brain Aging, 145 East 32Nd Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Sean R JacobsonDepartment of Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, Division of Brain Aging, 145 East 32Nd Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Juan ForteaSant Pau Memory Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de La Santa Creu y Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Jeffrey S BergerDivisions of Cardiology and Hematology, Department of Medicine, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Alok VedvyasDepartment of Neurology, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Karyn MarshDepartment of Neurology, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Tianshe HeDepartment of Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, Division of Brain Aging, 145 East 32Nd Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Eugenio Gutierrez-JimenezInstitute of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Nathanael R FillmoreVA Boston Cooperative Studies Program, MAVERIC, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.
Moses GonzalezDepartment of Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, Division of Brain Aging, 145 East 32Nd Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Luisa FigueredoDepartment of Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, Division of Brain Aging, 145 East 32Nd Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Naomi L GaggiDepartment of Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, Division of Brain Aging, 145 East 32Nd Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Chelsea Reichert PlaskaDepartment of Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, Division of Brain Aging, 145 East 32Nd Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Nunzio PomaraDepartment of Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, Division of Brain Aging, 145 East 32Nd Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Esther BlessingDepartment of Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, Division of Brain Aging, 145 East 32Nd Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Rebecca BetenskyDepartment of Neurology, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Henry RusinekDepartment of Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, Division of Brain Aging, 145 East 32Nd Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Henrik ZetterbergDepartment of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.
Kaj BlennowInst. of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.
Lidia GlodzikDepartment of Neurology, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Thomas M WisniweskiDepartment of Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, Division of Brain Aging, 145 East 32Nd Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Mony J de LeonBrain Health Imaging Institute, Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Ricardo S Osorio *Department of Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, Division of Brain Aging, 145 East 32Nd Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA. Ricardo.Osorio@nyulangone.org.
Jaime Ramos-Cejudo *Department of Psychiatry, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, Division of Brain Aging, 145 East 32Nd Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA. Jaime.ramoscejudo@nyulangone.org.
Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Funding

Research Education ComponentP30AG066512 · NIA · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI Mary Sherman Mittelman · 2020 to 2026
$28.4M
Multidisciplinary Research Training in Sleep ScienceT32HL160511 · NHLBI · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · PI INDU A AYAPPA, ANDREW W VARGA · 2023 to 2026
$1.5M
NHLBI NIH HHS T32 HL160511NIA NIH HHS P30 AG066512
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAn elevated neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in blood has been associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, an elevated NLR has also been implicated in many other conditions that are risk factors for AD, prompting investigation into whether the NLR is directly linked with AD pathology or a result of underlying comorbidities. Herein, we explored the relationship between the NLR and AD biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of cognitively unimpaired (CU) subjects. Adjusting for sociodemographics, APOE4, and common comorbidities, we investigated these associations in two cohorts: the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and the M.J. de Leon CSF repository at NYU. Specifically, we examined associations between the NLR and cross-sectional measures of amyloid-β42 (Aβ42), total tau (t-tau), and phosphorylated tau

resultsA total of 111 ADNI and 190 NYU participants classified as CU with available NLR, CSF, and covariate data were included. Compared to NYU, ADNI participants were older (73.79 vs. 61.53, p < 0.001), had a higher proportion of males (49.5% vs. 36.8%, p = 0.042), higher BMIs (27.94 vs. 25.79, p < 0.001), higher prevalence of hypertensive history (47.7% vs. 16.3%, p < 0.001), and a greater percentage of Aβ-positivity (34.2% vs. 20.0%, p = 0.009). In the ADNI cohort, we found cross-sectional associations between the NLR and CSF Aβ42 (β = -12.193, p = 0.021), but not t-tau or p-tau. In the NYU cohort, we found cross-sectional associations between the NLR and CSF t-tau (β = 26.812, p = 0.019) and p-tau (β = 3.441, p = 0.015), but not Aβ42. In the NYU cohort alone, subjects classified as Aβ + (n = 38) displayed a stronger association between the NLR and t-tau (β = 100.476, p = 0.037) compared to Aβ- subjects or the non-stratified cohort. In both cohorts, the same associations observed in the cross-sectional analyses were observed after incorporating longitudinal CSF data.

conclusionsWe report associations between the NLR and Aβ42 in the older ADNI cohort, and between the NLR and t-tau and p-tau in the younger NYU cohort. Associations persisted after adjusting for comorbidities, suggesting a direct link between the NLR and AD. However, changes in associations between the NLR and specific AD biomarkers may occur as part of immunosenescence.

Indexed as

Alzheimer’s diseaseAmyloid-βCSFNeutrophil to lymphocyte ratioNLRP-tauT-tau

Identifiers

PMID38760856
PMCPMC11100119

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