Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39966925›Full record

ArticleAlzheimer's research & therapy2025

Sex differences in the association of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers and cognition in a multicenter memory clinic study.

Cecilia Boccalini, Debora Elisa Peretti, Max Scheffler, Linjing Mu, Alessandra Griffa, Nathalie Testart, Gilles Allali, John O Prior, Nicholas J Ashton, Henrik Zetterberg and 3 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
42citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Elevated temporal tau PET predicts faster cognitive decline in women than men: A meta-analysis.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. The indirect effects of cognitive function in the association between stroke and quality of life among older adults in a rural community: A cross-sectional study.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Observational
  7. Tau-PET and CSF MTBR-tau243 comparisons validate increased tau aggregation in females.European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2026
    Article
  8. Considerations in Alzheimer's Disease in Women.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2026
    Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Deep learning-based MRI analysis reveals Lewy body co-pathology accelerates brain aging in Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Sex differences in brain glucose metabolism and Alzheimer's disease risk and progression.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Review
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Review
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.

Cecilia BoccaliniLaboratory of Neuroimaging and Innovative Molecular Tracers (NIMTlab), Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University Neurocenter, University of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, CH-1205, Switzerland.
Debora Elisa PerettiLaboratory of Neuroimaging and Innovative Molecular Tracers (NIMTlab), Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University Neurocenter, University of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, CH-1205, Switzerland.
Max SchefflerDivision of Radiology, Geneva University Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, CH-1205, Switzerland.
Linjing MuInstitute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5/10, Zurich, 8049, Switzerland.
Alessandra GriffaLeenaards Memory Center, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Chem. de Mont-Paisible 16, Lausanne, 1011, Switzerland.
Nathalie TestartNuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Lausanne University Hospital, Rue du Bugnon 46, Lausanne, 1005, Switzerland.
Gilles AllaliLeenaards Memory Center, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Chem. de Mont-Paisible 16, Lausanne, 1011, Switzerland.
John O PriorNuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Lausanne University Hospital, Rue du Bugnon 46, Lausanne, 1005, Switzerland.
Nicholas J AshtonCentre for Age-Related Medicine, Stavanger University Hospital, Armauer Hansens vei 30, Stavanger, 4011, Norway.
Henrik ZetterbergUK NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health & Biomedical Research Unit for Dementia at South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
Kaj BlennowDepartment of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Wallinsgatan 6, Mölndal, S-431 80, Sweden.
Giovanni B FrisoniGeneva Memory Center, Geneva University Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, CH-1205, Switzerland.
Valentina GaribottoLaboratory of Neuroimaging and Innovative Molecular Tracers (NIMTlab), Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University Neurocenter, University of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, CH-1205, Switzerland. valentina.garibotto@hug.ch.

Funding

Research Education ComponentP30AG072980 · NIA · BANNER HEALTH · PI ALIREZA ATRI · 2021 to 2026
$24.9M
NIA NIH HHS P30 AG072980
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis study investigated sex differences in the associations between Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers, cognitive performance, and decline in memory clinic settings.

methods249 participants (females/males:123/126), who underwent tau-PET, amyloid-PET, structural MRI, and plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) measurement were included from Geneva and Lausanne Memory Clinics. Mann-Whitney U tests investigated sex differences in clinical and biomarker data. Linear regression models estimated the moderating effect of sex on the relationship between biomarkers and cognitive performance and decline. Sex differences in cognitive decline were further evaluated using longitudinal linear mixed-effect models with three-way interaction effects.

resultsWomen and men present similar clinical features, amyloid, and neurodegeneration. Women had higher tau load and plasma levels of GFAP than men (p < 0.05). Tau associations with amyloid (standardized β = 0.54,p < 0.001), neurodegeneration (standardized β=-0.44,p < 0.001), and cognition (standardized β=-0.48,p < 0.001) were moderated by a significant interaction with sex. Specifically, the association between amyloid and tau was stronger among women than men (standardized β=-0.19,p = 0.047), whereas the associations between tau and cognition and between tau and neurodegeneration were stronger among men than in women (standardized β=-0.76,p = 0.001 and standardized β=-0.56,p = 0.044). Women exhibited faster cognitive decline than men in the presence of severe cortical thinning (p < 0.001).

conclusionWomen showed higher tau load and stronger association between amyloid and tau than men. In individuals with high tau burden, men exhibited greater neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment than women. These findings support that sex differences may impact tau deposition through an upstream interplay with amyloid, leading to downstream effects on neurodegeneration and cognitive outcomes.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseCognitionCognitive DysfunctionSex CharacteristicsAgedAged, 80 and overAmyloid beta-PeptidesBiomarkersFemaleGlial Fibrillary Acidic ProteinHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedPositron-Emission TomographySex FactorsAmyloid beta-PeptidesBiomarkersGFAP protein, humanGlial Fibrillary Acidic Proteintau ProteinsAlzheimer’s diseaseBiomarkersNeuroimagingSextau-PETWomen

Identifiers

PMID39966925
PMCPMC11837373

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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 Socratic graph.