Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41923248›Full record

ArticleAlzheimer's research & therapy2026

Choroid plexus enlargement contributes to CSVD progression and white matter microstructural deterioration via brain-fluid dysregulation.

Zan Wang, Dandan Liu, Xueli Cai, Yingying Yang, Xinya Zheng, Guanyu Niu, Jing Jing, Yongjun Wang, Yuesong Pan, Yilong Wang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

10 authors.

Zan Wang *Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No.119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, 100070, China.
Dandan Liu *Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No.119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, 100070, China.
Xueli CaiDepartment of Neurology,and Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical College,, Lishui Central Hospital , Lishui, Zhejiang, China.
Yingying YangDepartment of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No.119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, 100070, China.
Xinya ZhengDepartment of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No.119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, 100070, China.
Guanyu NiuDepartment of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No.119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, 100070, China.
Jing JingDepartment of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No.119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, 100070, China.
Yongjun WangDepartment of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No.119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, 100070, China.
Yuesong PanDepartment of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No.119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, 100070, China. yuesongpan@aliyun.com.
Yilong WangDepartment of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No.119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, 100070, China. yilong528@aliyun.com.

Funding

Beijing High-level Public Health Technical Personnel Construction Project Discipline leader-03-12Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation QY24327Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission Z231100004823036Capital's Funds for Health Improvement and Research 2022-2-2045China Postdoctoral Science Foundation 2023M742440National Key R&D Program of China 2022YFC3602500, 2022YFC3602505, 2024YFC3044800National Key R&D Program of China 2024YFC3044800, 2022YFF1501500, 2022YFF1501501, 2022YFF1501502, 2022YFF1501503, 2022YFF1501504, 2022YFF1501505National Natural Science Foundation of China 82425101Noncommunicable Chronic Diseases-National Science and Technology Major Project 2023ZD0504800, 2023ZD0504801, 2023ZD0504802, 2023ZD0504803, 2023ZD0504804
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe choroid plexus (ChP) plays a pivotal role in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) production, blood-CSF barrier maintenance, and immune surveillance at the brain-periphery interface. While ChP enlargement has been implicated in several neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disorders, its role in the pathogenesis of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) and frequently cooccurring white matter (WM) microstructural damage has not been systematically investigated, particularly in large-scale, longitudinal, population-based settings. We aimed to determine whether ChP enlargement contributes to CSVD progression, WM microstructural deterioration, and cognitive decline via glymphatic impairment and interstitial fluid accumulation.

methodsIn a community-based cohort (n = 2,186; mean age 61.3 ± 5.8 years), participants underwent multimodal brain MRI and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) at baseline and a median 2.5-year follow-up. Brain-fluid dysregulation was indexed by elevated extracellular free water (FW) and reduced diffusivity along the perivascular spaces (DTI-ALPS). Total CSVD burden, CSVD imaging markers, WM fibre-tract integrity (tissue-specific fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity), and WM network-level topology were comprehensively assessed. An independent hospital-based cohort (n = 249; mean age 67.2 ± 8.1 years) with comprehensive neuropsychological assessments, was included to serve as an external validation sample and to enable domain-specific analyses of cognitive impairment associated with ChP enlargement.

resultsAt baseline, larger ChP volume and greater brain-fluid dysregulation (i.e., elevated FW and reduced DTI-ALPS) were consistently associated with higher total CSVD burden, increased white-matter hyperintensity volume, higher numbers of lacunes and cerebral microbleeds, and more pronounced disruption of WM microstructural integrity (at both the WM fibre-tract and network levels), as well as poorer cognitive performance—particularly in executive function and information processing speed. Serial mediation analyses delineated hierarchical cascades: ChP enlargement affected WM microstructural integrity and cognition via elevated FW and reduced DTI-ALPS. Furthermore, in the PRECISE cohort, no significant relationship was observed between baseline ChP volume and longitudinal decline in global cognitive function (∆ MoCA scores). However, higher baseline ChP volume was robustly associated with longitudinal CSVD progression and WM microstructural deterioration over the median 2.5-year follow-up, with increases in FW significantly mediated these associations.

conclusionsThese findings support a framework in which ChP enlargement is associated with brain-fluid dysregulation and downstream CSVD pathology and WM microstructural degeneration. Further longitudinal studies incorporating comprehensive neuropsychological batteries are warranted to clarify the role of ChP-related fluid dysregulation in domain-specific cognitive trajectories.

Indexed as

Cerebral Small Vessel DiseasesChoroid PlexusWhite MatterAgedBrainCognitive DysfunctionCohort StudiesDiffusion Tensor ImagingDisease ProgressionFemaleGlymphatic SystemHumansLongitudinal StudiesMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedCerebral small vessel disease (CSVD)Choroid plexus (ChP) enlargementCognitive impairmentFree water (FW) accumulationGlymphatic impairmentWhite mater (WM) degeneration

Identifiers

PMID41923248
PMCPMC13169719

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.