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A generalised increase in protein carbonyls in the brain in Parkinson's but not incidental Lewy body disease
Alam ZI, Daniel SE, Lees AJ, Marsden DC, Jenner P, Halliwell B.. Journal of neurochemistry, 1997-09-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
The degeneration of neurones in Parkinson's disease (PD) may involve oxidative stress. Previously, increased lipid peroxidation and oxidative DNA damage have been reported in parkinsonian substantia nigra. In the present study the protein carbonyl assay was used to assess oxidative protein damage in postmortem brain tissue from patients with PD and age-matched controls. In brain areas associated with PD, such as substantia nigra, caudate nucleus, and putamen, there was a significant increase in carbonyl levels. However, increased carbonyl levels were also found in areas of the brain not thought to be affected in PD. This perhaps suggests that protein carbonyl formation is related to therapy with L-DOPA, which can exert prooxidant properties in vitro. Consistent with this possibility, brain regions from individuals with incidental Lewy body disease (putative presymptomatic PD) showed no rise in carbonyls in any brain areas. Our data show that either oxidative protein damage occurs widely but late in PD brain, and/or that L-DOPA treatment contributes to protein oxidation.
Key findings
- In brain areas associated with PD, such as substantia nigra, caudate nucleus, and putamen, there was a significant increase in carbonyl levels.
- This perhaps suggests that protein carbonyl formation is related to therapy with L-DOPA, which can exert prooxidant properties in vitro.
Why it matters
In post-mortem brain tissue, protein carbonyl levels were increased in Parkinson's disease but not in incidental Lewy body disease, and the authors suggest this may relate to L-DOPA treatment rather than to the disease process itself. This concerns Parkinson's disease and oxidative damage, not Alzheimer's treatment, cure or prevention.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 48/100
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 (Journal of neurochemistry) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Journal of Neurochemistry: journal h-index 349 (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 | 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 | 1997 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| 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 547 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 17.6 citations a year over 31 year(s) since 1997 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 11.3× 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 | 2 / 4 | Cited 17 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Barry B. Halliwell: h-index 192 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Columbia University: institution h-index 1,824 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 9282961) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 48 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Alam, Z. I., Daniel, S. E., Lees, A. J., Marsden, D. C., Jenner, P., & Halliwell, B. (1997). A generalised increase in protein carbonyls in the brain in Parkinson's but not incidental Lewy body disease. Journal of neurochemistry. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-4159.1997.69031326.x
Vancouver
Alam ZI, Daniel SE, Lees AJ, Marsden DC, Jenner P, Halliwell B. A generalised increase in protein carbonyls in the brain in Parkinson's but not incidental Lewy body disease. Journal of neurochemistry. 1997. doi:10.1046/j.1471-4159.1997.69031326.x. PMID: 9282961.
BibTeX
@article{alam1997-9282961,
author = {Alam, Z. I. and Daniel, S. E. and Lees, A. J. and Marsden, D. C. and Jenner, P. and Halliwell, B.},
title = {{A generalised increase in protein carbonyls in the brain in Parkinson's but not incidental Lewy body disease}},
journal = {Journal of neurochemistry},
year = {1997},
doi = {10.1046/j.1471-4159.1997.69031326.x},
pmid = {9282961},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-4159.1997.69031326.x}
}
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