This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

54/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 54 out of 100. Cognitive tests and assessment

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Introduction Despite significant progress, a disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer's disease (AD) has not yet been developed. Recent findings implicate soluble oligomeric amyloid beta as the most relevant protein conformation in AD pathogenesis. We recently described a signaling cascade whereby oligomeric amyloid beta binds to cellular prion protein on the neuronal cell surface, activating intracellular Fyn kinase to mediate synaptotoxicity.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Nygaard, H. B., Wagner, A. F., Bowen, G. S., Good, S. P., MacAvoy, M. G., Strittmatter, K. A., et al. (2015). A phase Ib multiple ascending dose study of the safety, tolerability, and central nervous system availability of AZD0530 (saracatinib) in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's research & therapy. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-015-0119-0

Vancouver

Nygaard HB, Wagner AF, Bowen GS, Good SP, MacAvoy MG, Strittmatter KA, et al. A phase Ib multiple ascending dose study of the safety, tolerability, and central nervous system availability of AZD0530 (saracatinib) in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's research & therapy. 2015. doi:10.1186/s13195-015-0119-0. PMID: 25874001.

BibTeX

@article{nygaard2015-25874001,
  author  = {Nygaard, H. B. and Wagner, A. F. and Bowen, G. S. and Good, S. P. and MacAvoy, M. G. and Strittmatter, K. A. and Kaufman, A. C. and Rosenberg, B. J. and others},
  title   = {{A phase Ib multiple ascending dose study of the safety, tolerability, and central nervous system availability of AZD0530 (saracatinib) in Alzheimer's disease}},
  journal = {Alzheimer's research \& therapy},
  year    = {2015},
  doi     = {10.1186/s13195-015-0119-0},
  pmid    = {25874001},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-015-0119-0}
}

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.

Key findings

Recent findings implicate soluble oligomeric amyloid beta as the most relevant protein conformation in AD pathogenesis.
We recently described a signaling cascade whereby oligomeric amyloid beta binds to cellular prion protein on the neuronal cell surface, activating intracellular Fyn kinase to mediate synaptotoxicity.
Fyn kinase has been implicated in AD pathophysiology both in in vitro models and in human subjects, and is a promising new therapeutic target for AD.
Herein, we present a Phase Ib trial of the repurposed investigational drug AZD0530, a Src family kinase inhibitor specific for Fyn and Src kinase, for the treatment of patients with mild-to-moderate AD.

Why it matters

This was a Phase Ib trial testing the drug saracatinib, which targets the Fyn kinase pathway linked to amyloid beta toxicity, to see whether it is safe and reaches the brain. It is an early-stage safety study, so it does not show whether the drug actually helps or prevents Alzheimer's disease.

Study details

Participants24
Evidence strengthHigh

How this study scored 54/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer's research & therapy)
Journal's citation record	1 / 4	Alzheimer s Research & Therapy: journal h-index 146 (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	5 / 5	Rated “high” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	1 / 4	24 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	5 / 7	Cited 165 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	12.7 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 8.8× 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 38 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Christopher H. van Dyck: h-index 88 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Yale University: institution h-index 1,927 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25874001)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	54 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.

Later studies that cite this one

2 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.

Related studies in Cognitive tests and assessment

Also tagged “double-blind”

783 studies in the library carry the topic tag “double-blind”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 783 tagged studies.

Similar studies

More on Cognitive tests and assessment

See all studies in Cognitive tests and assessment →