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16S rRNA Next Generation Sequencing Analysis Shows Bacteria in Alzheimer's Post-Mortem Brain
Emery DC, Shoemark DK, Batstone TE, Waterfall CM, Coghill JA, Cerajewska TL, Davies M, West NX et al.. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 2017-06-20
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
The neurological deterioration associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), involving accumulation of amyloid-beta peptides and neurofibrillary tangles, is associated with evident neuroinflammation. This is now seen to be a significant contributor to pathology. Recently the tenet of the privileged status of the brain, regarding microbial compromise, has been questioned, particularly in terms of neurodegenerative diseases.
Key findings
- This is now seen to be a significant contributor to pathology.
- Recently the tenet of the privileged status of the brain, regarding microbial compromise, has been questioned, particularly in terms of neurodegenerative diseases.
- It is now being considered that microbiological incursion into the central nervous system could be either an initiator or significant contributor to these.
- This is a novel study using 16S ribosomal gene-specific Next generation sequencing (NGS) of extracted brain tissue.
Why it matters
This study used gene sequencing to look for bacteria in postmortem Alzheimer's brain tissue. It is exploratory and does not show that bacteria cause Alzheimer's disease or that treating them would help.
Study details
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 49/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in aging neuroscience) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience: journal h-index 174 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2017 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 315 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 28.6 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 10.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 92 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Shelley Jane Allen: h-index 39 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Bristol: institution h-index 1,260 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28676754) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 49 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00195
- PubMed: 28676754
- Original source →
- Free full text: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Emery, D. C., Shoemark, D. K., Batstone, T. E., Waterfall, C. M., Coghill, J. A., Cerajewska, T. L., et al. (2017). 16S rRNA Next Generation Sequencing Analysis Shows Bacteria in Alzheimer's Post-Mortem Brain. Frontiers in aging neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2017.00195
Vancouver
Emery DC, Shoemark DK, Batstone TE, Waterfall CM, Coghill JA, Cerajewska TL, et al. 16S rRNA Next Generation Sequencing Analysis Shows Bacteria in Alzheimer's Post-Mortem Brain. Frontiers in aging neuroscience. 2017. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2017.00195. PMID: 28676754.
BibTeX
@article{emery2017-28676754,
author = {Emery, D. C. and Shoemark, D. K. and Batstone, T. E. and Waterfall, C. M. and Coghill, J. A. and Cerajewska, T. L. and Davies, M. and West, N. X. and others},
title = {{16S rRNA Next Generation Sequencing Analysis Shows Bacteria in Alzheimer's Post-Mortem Brain}},
journal = {Frontiers in aging neuroscience},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.3389/fnagi.2017.00195},
pmid = {28676754},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2017.00195}
}
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