Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41063558›Full record

ArticleAnnals of clinical and translational neurology2026

CSF Levels of NPTX2 Are Associated With Less Brain Atrophy Over Time in Cognitively Unimpaired Individuals.

Juan P Vazquez, Corinne Pettigrew, Yuxin Zhu, Claire Anderson, Guray Erus, Christos Davatzikos, Michael Miller, Abhay Moghekar, Sungtaek Oh, Chan-Hyun Na and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Annals of clinical and translational neurology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing 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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Menopausal insomnia as a modifiable node of dementia risk: Mechanistic insights and intervention strategies.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
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

13 authors.

Juan P VazquezDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8930-8009
Corinne PettigrewDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Yuxin ZhuDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Claire AndersonDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0009-0009-8437-618X
Guray ErusCentre for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Christos DavatzikosCentre for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Michael MillerDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Abhay MoghekarDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Sungtaek OhDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Chan-Hyun NaDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Marilyn AlbertDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Paul WorleyDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Anja SoldanDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6193-0418

Funding

Project 2 MeasurementU19AG033655 · NIA · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Abhay Moghekar · 2014 to 2026
$51.5M
'T V ASSESSMENT - MEMORY DISORDERED PATIENTS'P50AG005146 · NIA · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI BANDEEN-ROCHE, KAREN J. · 1985 to 2019
$37.6M
Biomarkers of Cognitive Decline among Normal Individuals: The BIOCARD cohortU01AG033655 · NIA · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI ALBERT, MARILYN S. · 2009 to 2013
$11.2M
Preclinical AD ConsortiumRF1AG059869 · NIA · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI ALBERT, MARILYN S. · 2018 to 2018
$7.7M
NIA NIH HHS P50 AG005146NIA NIH HHS RF1 AG059869NIA NIH HHS U01 AG033655NIA NIH HHS U19 AG033655NIH HHS P30-AG005146NIH HHS RF-1-1AG059869NIH HHS U19-AG033655
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionNeuronal pentraxin 2 (NPTX2) is a synaptic protein involved in synaptic plasticity and regulation of neuronal excitability. Lower baseline cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) NPTX2 levels have been shown to be associated with an earlier onset of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a pre-dementia syndrome, even after CSF Alzheimer's Disease (AD) biomarkers (amyloid beta (Aβ OBJECTIVE(S): Evaluate the association between baseline CSF NPTX2 levels and measures of long-term brain atrophy in participants who were cognitively unimpaired at baseline.

methodsAnalyses included 213 participants (M baseline age = 57.2 years, 62% female) from the prospective longitudinal BIOCARD study with 13.9 years (max = 22.6 years) of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) follow-up, on average. CSF NPTX2 was measured as a composite of three correlated peptides obtained by quantitative parallel reaction monitoring mass spectrometry. MRI brain atrophy was measured longitudinally with three composites. This included two spatial patterns of atrophy: (1) a composite of AD-signature regions (SPARE-AD) and (2) a composite of regions sensitive to brain aging (SPARE-BA), with higher values indicating more atrophy. Additionally, (3) a medial temporal lobe (MTL) composite included volumes of the amygdala, hippocampus, and entorhinal cortex. Linear mixed effect models assessed the association of baseline NPTX2 levels with the rate of change in the brain atrophy measures.

resultsWhen covarying biomarkers of AD pathology (i.e., the ratio of CSF p-tau

conclusionOur findings suggest that after accounting for biomarkers of AD pathology, CSF NPTX2 is associated with slower longitudinal atrophy in AD-signature and aging-related regions. These findings are consistent with the view that NPTX2 may be a resilience factor in the presence of pathology and modifies rates of neurodegeneration.

Indexed as

BrainCognitive DysfunctionC-Reactive ProteinNerve Tissue ProteinsAdultAgedAmyloid beta-PeptidesAtrophyBiomarkersFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle Agedtau ProteinsAmyloid beta-PeptidesBiomarkersC-Reactive ProteinNerve Tissue Proteinstau ProteinsagingbiomarkersdementiaMRI

Identifiers

PMID41063558
PMCPMC12883677

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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.