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Amyloid-beta is found in drusen from some age-related macular degeneration retinas, but not in drusen from normal retinas
Dentchev T, Milam AH, Lee VM, Trojanowski JQ, Dunaief JL.. Molecular vision, 2003-05-14
Topic: Disease mechanisms in lab and animal studies
Purpose Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss in the elderly. Increased understanding of the pathogenesis is necessary. Amyloid-beta (Abeta), a major extracellular deposit in Alzheimer's disease plaques, has recently been found in drusen, the hallmark extracellular deposit in AMD. The goal of this study was to characterize the distribution and frequency of Abeta deposits in drusen from AMD and normal post mortem human retinas to gain additional insight about the potential role of Abeta in AMD patho genesis. Methods Immunocytochemistry was performed with three Abeta antibodies on sections from 9 normal and 9 AMD (3 early, 3 geographic atrophy, 3 exudative AMD) retinas. Five sections from each eye were evaluated. Abeta positive deposits in drusen were identified using epifluorescence and confocal microscopy. Antibodies were pre-adsorbed with Abeta peptide to verify specificity. Some sections were stained with PAS-hematoxylin to aid in evaluation of morphology. Results To test and optimize immunocytochemistry, Abeta was detected in amyloid plaques from Alzheimer's brains. Abeta label was blocked by pre-adsorption of antibody with Abeta peptide, verifying specificity. Four of the 9 AMD retinas and none of the 9 normal retinas had Abeta positive drusen. Two of the early AMD eyes had a few A[beta] positive drusen, each with a few Abeta-containing vesicles, and 2 of the geographic atrophy (GA) eyes had many Abeta positive drusen with many Abeta containing vesicles. Conclusions Abeta was present in 4 of 9 AMD eyes. Within these eyes, Abeta localized to a subset of drusen. None of the 9 normal eyes surveyed, some of which had small drusen, were A beta positive. Abetapositive vesicles were most numerous in GA eyes at the edges of atrophy, the region at risk for further degeneration. These results suggest that Abeta in drusen correlates with the location of degenerating photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells. Further work will be necessary to determine whether Abeta deposition in drusen may contribute to or result from retinal degeneration.
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APA 7th
Dentchev, T., Milam, A. H., Lee, V. M., Trojanowski, J. Q., & Dunaief, J. L. (2003). Amyloid-beta is found in drusen from some age-related macular degeneration retinas, but not in drusen from normal retinas. Molecular vision.
Vancouver
Dentchev T, Milam AH, Lee VM, Trojanowski JQ, Dunaief JL. Amyloid-beta is found in drusen from some age-related macular degeneration retinas, but not in drusen from normal retinas. Molecular vision. 2003. PMID: 12764254.
BibTeX
@article{dentchev2003-12764254,
author = {Dentchev, T. and Milam, A. H. and Lee, V. M. and Trojanowski, J. Q. and Dunaief, J. L.},
title = {{Amyloid-beta is found in drusen from some age-related macular degeneration retinas, but not in drusen from normal retinas}},
journal = {Molecular vision},
year = {2003},
pmid = {12764254}
}
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Key findings
- Results To test and optimize immunocytochemistry, Abeta was detected in amyloid plaques from Alzheimer's brains.
- These results suggest that Abeta in drusen correlates with the location of degenerating photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells.
- Further work will be necessary to determine whether Abeta deposition in drusen may contribute to or result from retinal degeneration.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 36/100
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. 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 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 36 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Molecular vision) |
| 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 | 2003 — 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 | — / 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 12764254) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 21 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 36 out of 100. |
| Total | 36 / 100 | — |
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