Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42129839›Full record

ArticleAlzheimer's research & therapy2026

Plasma extracellular vesicle proteins biomarker for cerebral small vessel disease related cognitive impairment.

Dan Yang, Pinyi Liu, Mengxi Han, Zhihong Ke, Yi Tan, Linjie Yu, Zheqi Hu, Chenglu Mao, Yue Cheng, Hao Zhang and 3 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
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
–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

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

13 authors.

Dan Yang *Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Pinyi Liu *Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Mengxi HanDepartment of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Zhihong KeDepartment of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Yi TanDepartment of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Linjie YuDepartment of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Zheqi HuDepartment of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Chenglu MaoDepartment of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Yue ChengDepartment of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Hao ZhangDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, Jiangsu, China.
Yun ZhangDepartment of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Xiaolei ZhuDepartment of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Yun XuDepartment of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China. xuyun20042001@aliyun.com.

Funding

iangsu Province Key Medical Discipline ZDXK202216Noncommunicable Chronic Diseases-National Science and Technology Major Project 2023ZD0504902the National Natural Science Foundation of China 82130036the STI2030-Major Projects 2022ZD0211800
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a major contributor to vascular dementia. Given the absence of effective treatments, the development of blood-based biomarkers for early diagnosis and prediction is paramount to facilitate targeted clinical interventions. We aimed to identified blood-based extracellular vesicle (EV) biomarkers for screening CSVD with normal cognition (CSVD-NC) or cognitive impairment (CSVD-CI), and predicting disease progression.

methodsWe conducted a multi-center cross-sectional and longitudinal study involving patients with CSVD-NC and CSVD-CI, healthy controls (HCs), and patients with CI due to Alzheimer's disease (AD-CI). Plasma EV proteomics were profiled using LC-MS/MS in a discovery set. Candidate EV biomarkers identified in this phase were subsequently validated in a larger independent set using parallel reaction monitoring. Machine learning was applied to develop and optimize diagnostic combinations for identifying CSVD and predicting disease progression.

resultsPlasma EV proteins exhibiting progressive changes during CSVD progression were predominantly enriched in immune-inflammatory and ribosomal dysfunction. Three plasma EV proteins (ATP6V1F, HNRNPU, and RPL38) demonstrated robust, cross-dataset consistency from HC to CSVD-NC to CSVD-CI continuum, and displayed distinct expression patterns between CSVD-CI and AD-CI (P < 0.001). These EV biomarkers demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for CSVD with or without CI (AUC = 0.849-0.897), and effectively stratified high-risk versus low-risk populations for CSVD cognitive progression (P = 0.005). Moreover, they were associated with CSVD-related structural injury and specific cognitive functions: EV ATP6V1F with hippocampal atrophy, language, and memory; EV RPL38 with WMH burden and white matter integrity; and EV HNRNPU with visuospatial function and executive function.

conclusionThe identified plasma EV biomarkers reliably reflect CSVD-related vascular injury and cognitive decline, and hold promise as minimally invasive tools for early screening and risk stratification of CSVD-related CI, especially in community settings.

Indexed as

Cerebral Small Vessel DiseasesCognitive DysfunctionExtracellular VesiclesAgedBiomarkersCross-Sectional StudiesDisease ProgressionFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleProteomicsRibosomal ProteinsBiomarkersRibosomal ProteinsBlood BiomarkersCerebral small vessel diseaseCognitive impairmentExtracellular vesiclesProteomics

Identifiers

PMID42129839
PMCPMC13343569

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.