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3alpha,5alpha-THP: a potential plasma neurosteroid biomarker in Alzheimer's disease and perhaps non-Alzheimer's dementia
Smith CD, Wekstein DR, Markesbery WR, Frye CA.. Psychopharmacology, 2005-10-18
Topic: Plasma and spinal-fluid biomarkers
Rationale A plasma biomarker for neurodegenerative disease is desirable because blood is relatively simple to obtain compared with other biological samples such as cerebrospinal fluid. Recent literature suggests that neurosteroid metabolism may be altered in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Objectives We sought to measure the plasma levels of seven steroids to assess their potential as biomarkers for dementia and AD. Methods Steroids were measured using validated radioimmunoassay methods in AD (n=15), non-AD dementia (n=4), and control subjects (n=20). Demented subjects were in the mild-to-moderate stages of illness. Measurements were done blind to subject status in an independent laboratory. Results The notable finding was the significantly lower 5alpha-pregnan-3alpha-ol-20-one (3alpha,5alpha-THP) level in demented subjects compared with controls (25% decrease; p=0.004); 3alpha,5alpha-THP was the only one of the steroids demonstrating an effect of dementia. Conclusion Lowered 3alpha,5alpha-THP levels appear promising as a biomarker in dementia, but further work is needed to establish the sensitivity and specificity of these findings in AD.
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APA 7th
Smith, C. D., Wekstein, D. R., Markesbery, W. R., & Frye, C. A. (2006). 3alpha,5alpha-THP: a potential plasma neurosteroid biomarker in Alzheimer's disease and perhaps non-Alzheimer's dementia. Psychopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-005-0186-1
Vancouver
Smith CD, Wekstein DR, Markesbery WR, Frye CA. 3alpha,5alpha-THP: a potential plasma neurosteroid biomarker in Alzheimer's disease and perhaps non-Alzheimer's dementia. Psychopharmacology. 2006. doi:10.1007/s00213-005-0186-1. PMID: 16231167.
BibTeX
@article{smith2006-16231167,
author = {Smith, C. D. and Wekstein, D. R. and Markesbery, W. R. and Frye, C. A.},
title = {{3alpha,5alpha-THP: a potential plasma neurosteroid biomarker in Alzheimer's disease and perhaps non-Alzheimer's dementia}},
journal = {Psychopharmacology},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1007/s00213-005-0186-1},
pmid = {16231167},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-005-0186-1}
}
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Key findings
- Rationale A plasma biomarker for neurodegenerative disease is desirable because blood is relatively simple to obtain compared with other biological samples such as cerebrospinal fluid.
- Recent literature suggests that neurosteroid metabolism may be altered in Alzheimer's disease (AD).
- Results The notable finding was the significantly lower 5alpha-pregnan-3alpha-ol-20-one (3alpha,5alpha-THP) level in demented subjects compared with controls (25% decrease; p=0.004); 3alpha,5alpha-THP was the only one of the steroids demonstrating an effect of dementia.
- Conclusion Lowered 3alpha,5alpha-THP levels appear promising as a biomarker in dementia, but further work is needed to establish the sensitivity and specificity of these findings in AD.
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Study details
- Participants15
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 25 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 43 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Psychopharmacology) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 15 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16231167) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 25 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 25 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 43 out of 100. |
| Total | 43 / 100 | — |
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