Alzbiomarker AD vs CTRL


This interactive resource organizes decades of data on biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease. Biomarker measurements from the cerebrospinal fluid and blood are curated from the primary literature and meta-analyzed.  The database was developed in collaboration with Henrik Zetterberg and colleagues at the University of Gothenburg and the meta-analysis results of the Version 1.0 dataset have been published (Olsson et al., 2016). We welcome your feedback and invite you to contact us at alzbiomarker@alzforum.org.

See below for links to each meta-analysis along with key statistics, such as p value and effect size -- a ratio of the mean biomarker concentration of one cohort over another (e.g. AD/control). View this page on a desktop, laptop, or tablet for a colorful, interactive graph of the results, plotted by effect size and z score.

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Meta-Analyses

The graph, and the table below it, show key results from all meta-analyses. As the overall result, the effect size—a ratio of the mean biomarker concentration of one condition over another (e.g. AD/control)—is plotted against the z score, a statistic indicating how far away the observed ratio is from the null hypothesis of no difference. For example, a z score of 1.96 means that the observed ratio is 1.96 times larger than the standard error; it is equivalent to p=0.05. A z score of 3.89 is equivalent to p=0.0001. Customize the plot by selecting group comparisons and/or biomarkers. The size of each circle reflects the total number of subjects in the meta-analysis. Mouse over the circle to learn more. In the table, click the arrowheads to sort each data column.

 

Biomarkers:

Meta-Analysis Effect Size z score | p value Number of
Comparisons
Number of
Subjects
AD vs CTRL: albumin ratio (CSF) Effect Size: 1.109 z score | p value: z = 3.07 | p = 0.00211 Number of Comparisons: 26 Number of Subjects: AD N=2149, CTRL N=1262
AD vs CTRL: Aβ38 (CSF) Effect Size: 0.921 z score | p value: z = 2.12 | p = 0.03363 Number of Comparisons: 17 Number of Subjects: AD N=887, CTRL N=827
AD vs CTRL: Aβ40 (CSF) Effect Size: 0.913 z score | p value: z = 4.07 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 51 Number of Subjects: AD N=2438, CTRL N=2011
AD vs CTRL: Aβ40 (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 1.044 z score | p value: z = 1.44 | p = 0.15097 Number of Comparisons: 48 Number of Subjects: AD N=3806, CTRL N=5483
AD vs CTRL: Aβ42 (CSF) Effect Size: 0.552 z score | p value: z = 35.05 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 210 Number of Subjects: AD N=14236, CTRL N=10708
AD vs CTRL: Aβ42 (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 1.049 z score | p value: z = 2.17 | p = 0.02998 Number of Comparisons: 53 Number of Subjects: AD N=4197, CTRL N=6020
AD vs CTRL: GFAP (CSF) Effect Size: 1.502 z score | p value: z = 1.92 | p = 0.05530 Number of Comparisons: 5 Number of Subjects: AD N=140, CTRL N=128
AD vs CTRL: GFAP (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 1.928 z score | p value: z = 12.24 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 7 Number of Subjects: AD N=738, CTRL N=1123
AD vs CTRL: hFABP (CSF) Effect Size: 1.437 z score | p value: z = 6.89 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 7 Number of Subjects: AD N=361, CTRL N=374
AD vs CTRL: hFABP (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 1.054 z score | p value: z = 0.86 | p = 0.38915 Number of Comparisons: 3 Number of Subjects: AD N=134, CTRL N=139
AD vs CTRL: MCP-1 (CSF) Effect Size: 1.091 z score | p value: z = 3.12 | p = 0.00181 Number of Comparisons: 11 Number of Subjects: AD N=460, CTRL N=723
AD vs CTRL: MCP-1 (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 1.040 z score | p value: z = 0.82 | p = 0.41128 Number of Comparisons: 8 Number of Subjects: AD N=1112, CTRL N=723
AD vs CTRL: neurogranin (CSF) Effect Size: 1.609 z score | p value: z = 7.9 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 22 Number of Subjects: AD N=1595, CTRL N=1389
AD vs CTRL: neurogranin (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 0.714 z score | p value: z = 1.14 | p = 0.25272 Number of Comparisons: 2 Number of Subjects: AD N=45, CTRL N=49
AD vs CTRL: NFL (CSF) Effect Size: 1.983 z score | p value: z = 14.54 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 30 Number of Subjects: AD N=1693, CTRL N=1950
AD vs CTRL: NFL (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 1.854 z score | p value: z = 11.33 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 15 Number of Subjects: AD N=1053, CTRL N=1526
AD vs CTRL: NSE (CSF) Effect Size: 1.464 z score | p value: z = 2.87 | p = 0.00416 Number of Comparisons: 9 Number of Subjects: AD N=293, CTRL N=211
AD vs CTRL: NSE (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 0.999 z score | p value: z = 0.01 | p = 0.99192 Number of Comparisons: 3 Number of Subjects: AD N=102, CTRL N=97
AD vs CTRL: sAPPα (CSF) Effect Size: 1.035 z score | p value: z = 0.78 | p = 0.43779 Number of Comparisons: 14 Number of Subjects: AD N=806, CTRL N=559
AD vs CTRL: sAPPα (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 1.501 z score | p value: z = 1.58 | p = 0.11352 Number of Comparisons: 2 Number of Subjects: AD N=132, CTRL N=151
AD vs CTRL: sAPPβ (CSF) Effect Size: 1.013 z score | p value: z = 0.48 | p = 0.62907 Number of Comparisons: 17 Number of Subjects: AD N=1031, CTRL N=740
AD vs CTRL: sAPPβ (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 0.700 z score | p value: z = 1.04 | p = 0.30006 Number of Comparisons: 3 Number of Subjects: AD N=176, CTRL N=178
AD vs CTRL: sTREM2 (CSF) Effect Size: 1.314 z score | p value: z = 6.37 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 12 Number of Subjects: AD N=714, CTRL N=686
AD vs CTRL: tau-p181 (CSF) Effect Size: 1.867 z score | p value: z = 29.08 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 153 Number of Subjects: AD N=10861, CTRL N=8808
AD vs CTRL: tau-p181 (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 1.799 z score | p value: z = 7.94 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 19 Number of Subjects: AD N=1175, CTRL N=1744
AD vs CTRL: tau-p217 (CSF) Effect Size: 10.988 z score | p value: z = 11.17 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 2 Number of Subjects: AD N=164, CTRL N=249
AD vs CTRL: tau-p217 (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 3.876 z score | p value: z = 1.74 | p = 0.08162 Number of Comparisons: 2 Number of Subjects: AD N=252, CTRL N=393
AD vs CTRL: tau-p231 (CSF) Effect Size: 5.893 z score | p value: z = 4.67 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 5 Number of Subjects: AD N=259, CTRL N=111
AD vs CTRL: tau-total (CSF) Effect Size: 2.477 z score | p value: z = 40.4 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 238 Number of Subjects: AD N=15876, CTRL N=11596
AD vs CTRL: tau-total (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 1.398 z score | p value: z = 5.84 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 37 Number of Subjects: AD N=2745, CTRL N=4168
AD vs CTRL: VLP-1 (CSF) Effect Size: 1.546 z score | p value: z = 5.23 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 7 Number of Subjects: AD N=353, CTRL N=385
AD vs CTRL: YKL-40 (CSF) Effect Size: 1.362 z score | p value: z = 7.66 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 34 Number of Subjects: AD N=1781, CTRL N=2072
AD vs CTRL: YKL-40 (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 2.205 z score | p value: z = 2.38 | p = 0.01721 Number of Comparisons: 5 Number of Subjects: AD N=371, CTRL N=685
AD vs CTRL: α-synuclein (CSF) Effect Size: 1.183 z score | p value: z = 3.55 | p = 0.00038 Number of Comparisons: 24 Number of Subjects: AD N=1237, CTRL N=1140
AD vs CTRL: α-synuclein (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 0.909 z score | p value: z = 0.98 | p = 0.32567 Number of Comparisons: 3 Number of Subjects: AD N=109, CTRL N=78
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: albumin ratio (CSF/Blood) Effect Size: 1.056 z score | p value: z = 0.95 | p = 0.34338 Number of Comparisons: 2 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=96, MCI-Stable N=142
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: Aβ38 (CSF) Effect Size: 1.127 z score | p value: z = 2.58 | p = 0.01000 Number of Comparisons: 2 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=87, MCI-Stable N=144
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: Aβ40 (CSF) Effect Size: 1.000 z score | p value: z = 0.02 | p = 0.98641 Number of Comparisons: 8 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=337, MCI-Stable N=461
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: Aβ40 (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 1.018 z score | p value: z = 0.5 | p = 0.61737 Number of Comparisons: 5 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=371, MCI-Stable N=557
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: Aβ42 (CSF) Effect Size: 0.672 z score | p value: z = 15.58 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 28 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=979, MCI-Stable N=1476
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: Aβ42 (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 0.952 z score | p value: z = 0.27 | p = 0.78533 Number of Comparisons: 5 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=371, MCI-Stable N=557
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: neurogranin (CSF) Effect Size: 1.542 z score | p value: z = 2.97 | p = 0.00299 Number of Comparisons: 4 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=190, MCI-Stable N=170
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: sAPPα (CSF) Effect Size: 1.091 z score | p value: z = 1.3 | p = 0.19510 Number of Comparisons: 3 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=118, MCI-Stable N=169
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: sAPPβ (CSF) Effect Size: 1.055 z score | p value: z = 0.55 | p = 0.58568 Number of Comparisons: 3 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=118, MCI-Stable N=169
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: tau-p181 (CSF) Effect Size: 1.566 z score | p value: z = 10.97 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 22 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=800, MCI-Stable N=1242
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: tau-total (CSF) Effect Size: 1.754 z score | p value: z = 18.74 | p <0.0001 Number of Comparisons: 28 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=951, MCI-Stable N=1462
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: tau-total (Plasma and Serum) Effect Size: 1.364 z score | p value: z = 2.42 | p = 0.01547 Number of Comparisons: 3 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=90, MCI-Stable N=243
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: VLP-1 (CSF) Effect Size: 1.397 z score | p value: z = 2.32 | p = 0.02008 Number of Comparisons: 2 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=83, MCI-Stable N=41
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: YKL-40 (CSF) Effect Size: 1.125 z score | p value: z = 1.75 | p = 0.07985 Number of Comparisons: 5 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=226, MCI-Stable N=266
MCI-AD vs MCI-Stable: α-synuclein (CSF) Effect Size: 1.340 z score | p value: z = 1.9 | p = 0.05789 Number of Comparisons: 3 Number of Subjects: MCI-AD N=84, MCI-Stable N=75

Further Reading

News

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  2. Do CSF and Plasma NfL Diverge After Alzheimer’s Disease Onset?
  3. 'Presymptomatic AD' or 'Asymptomatic at Risk'? Dx Criteria Disagree
  4. In Familial Alzheimer’s, β-Synuclein Rises in Blood a Decade Before Onset

Webinars

  1. Learn About AD Biomarker Meta-Analysis on AlzBiomarker Database
  2. Webinar: O Blood-Based Biomarker, Where Art Thou?
  3. Untapped Resource? New Study to Boost Acceptance of CSF Analysis
  4. Together at Last, Top Five Biomarkers Model Stages of AD