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Alzheimer-type pathology in a patient with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS)
Kaido M, Fujimura H, Soga F, Toyooka K, Yoshikawa H, Nishimura T, Higashi T, Inui K et al.. Acta neuropathologica, 1996-09-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
A 53-year-old Japanese woman with a point mutation in mitochondrial DNA (tRNALeu(UUR), nt3243) consistent with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) and Alzheimer-type brain pathology is reported. This woman had suffered myopathy and psychosis without any clinical evidence of, stroke-like episodes during the last 10 years of her life, and had died after an accident. At autopsy 30 h post mortem, a part of the brain was snap frozen for biochemical and histochemical studies, and the remaining part was processed for a routine examination and electron microscopy. In the brain there were no ischemic lesions. Instead, primitive/diffuse senile plaques were found throughout the brain, predominantly in the frontal and temporal lobes, while Alzheimer neurofibrillary tangles were found only in the parahippocampal gyrus. These plaques were positive for beta-protein and mostly negative for tau protein, ubiquitin, neurofilaments, alpha-choline acetyltransferase, and acetylcholinesterase. Mutations in codon 331 of the ND2 gene as well as codons 693, 713 and 717 of the beta-amyloid precursor protein gene, known to be responsible for some cases of familial Alzheimer disease, were not found. Furthermore, coincidental Down syndrome was ruled out by chromosome analysis. The results suggest a possible correlation between this mitochondrial DNA abnormality and Alzheimer-type pathology.
Key findings
- The results suggest a possible correlation between this mitochondrial DNA abnormality and Alzheimer-type pathology.
Why it matters
A single patient with MELAS was found at autopsy to have Alzheimer-type plaques and tangles, and the authors suggest a possible correlation between this mitochondrial DNA abnormality and Alzheimer-type pathology. This is one case report and does not establish a treatment, cure, or prevention.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 39/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Acta neuropathologica) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Acta Neuropathologica: journal h-index 287 (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 | 1996 — 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 | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 30 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.9 citations a year over 32 year(s) since 1996 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Takehiko Yanagihara: h-index 54 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | The University of Osaka: institution h-index 1,138 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 8870835) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 39 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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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. 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
Kaido, M., Fujimura, H., Soga, F., Toyooka, K., Yoshikawa, H., Nishimura, T., et al. (1996). Alzheimer-type pathology in a patient with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS). Acta neuropathologica. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004010050524
Vancouver
Kaido M, Fujimura H, Soga F, Toyooka K, Yoshikawa H, Nishimura T, et al. Alzheimer-type pathology in a patient with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS). Acta neuropathologica. 1996. doi:10.1007/s004010050524. PMID: 8870835.
BibTeX
@article{kaido1996-8870835,
author = {Kaido, M. and Fujimura, H. and Soga, F. and Toyooka, K. and Yoshikawa, H. and Nishimura, T. and Higashi, T. and Inui, K. and others},
title = {{Alzheimer-type pathology in a patient with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS)}},
journal = {Acta neuropathologica},
year = {1996},
doi = {10.1007/s004010050524},
pmid = {8870835},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s004010050524}
}
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