We found no significant differences in SMOC1-positive plaque loads between AD stages (p > 0.263): 28.3 ± 6.4% of plaques in preclinical AD, 32.8 ± 5.4% of plaques in MCI, and 43.8 ± 2.4% of plaques in AD (Fig. 1b, c). Here, SMOC1 is linked to Alzheimer disease.