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Amyloid precursor protein in platelets of patients with Alzheimer disease: effect of acetylcholinesterase inhibitor treatment
Borroni B, Colciaghi F, Pastorino L, Pettenati C, Cottini E, Rozzini L, Monastero R, Lenzi GL et al.. Archives of neurology, 2001-03-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Plain-language summary
Background Amyloid precursor protein (APP) forms with apparent molecular weights of 130, 110, and 106 kd are present in human platelets. It has been demonstrated that Alzheimer disease (AD) is specifically associated with a decreased APP forms ratio in platelets. Objective To investigate whether acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor treatment modifies the ratio of platelet APP forms in patients with AD. Patients and methods From a large sample of patients with probable AD, 30 with mild to moderate AD were selected. Each patient underwent a clinical evaluation including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and platelet APP forms analysis at baseline and after 30 days. During this interval, 20 of 30 patients with AD were treated with donepezil hydrochloride (5 mg/d), a piperidine phosphate-based cholinesterase inhibitor. Platelets were subjected to Western blot analysis using monoclonal antibody (22C11). The ratio between the immunoreactivity of the higher-molecular-weight APP form (130 kd) and the lower forms (106 and 110 kd) was measured. Results All patients taking donepezil completed the 30 days of treatment without adverse effects. The platelet APP forms ratio at baseline did not differ between the 2 AD groups (mean +/- SD optical density ratio: untreated AD, 0.47 +/- 0.12; treated AD, 0.38 +/- 0.18), whereas a significant difference was found at follow-up (mean +/- SD optical density ratio: untreated AD, 0.45 +/- 0.17; treated AD, 0.77 +/- 0.29; P Conclusions Administration of AChE inhibitors increases the ratio of APP forms in platelets of patients with AD, suggesting a potential effect of AChE inhibitors on APP trafficking or processing in a peripheral cell.
What this study adds
Evidence grade: Low
This is a trial of 30 participants. A group of 30 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's had a protein ratio in their blood platelets measured before and after 30 days, with 20 of them taking donepezil (5 mg/d), a cholinesterase inhibitor. The ratio of amyloid precursor protein forms rose in the treated group (0.77) compared with the untreated group (0.45) at follow-up, and no adverse effects were reported.
Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Borroni, B., Colciaghi, F., Pastorino, L., Pettenati, C., Cottini, E., Rozzini, L., et al. (2001). Amyloid precursor protein in platelets of patients with Alzheimer disease: effect of acetylcholinesterase inhibitor treatment. Archives of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.58.3.442
Vancouver
Borroni B, Colciaghi F, Pastorino L, Pettenati C, Cottini E, Rozzini L, et al. Amyloid precursor protein in platelets of patients with Alzheimer disease: effect of acetylcholinesterase inhibitor treatment. Archives of neurology. 2001. doi:10.1001/archneur.58.3.442. PMID: 11255448.
BibTeX
@article{borroni2001-11255448,
author = {Borroni, B. and Colciaghi, F. and Pastorino, L. and Pettenati, C. and Cottini, E. and Rozzini, L. and Monastero, R. and Lenzi, G. L. and others},
title = {{Amyloid precursor protein in platelets of patients with Alzheimer disease: effect of acetylcholinesterase inhibitor treatment}},
journal = {Archives of neurology},
year = {2001},
doi = {10.1001/archneur.58.3.442},
pmid = {11255448},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.58.3.442}
}
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
- It has been demonstrated that Alzheimer disease (AD) is specifically associated with a decreased APP forms ratio in platelets.
- Results All patients taking donepezil completed the 30 days of treatment without adverse effects.
- The platelet APP forms ratio at baseline did not differ between the 2 AD groups (mean +/- SD optical density ratio: untreated AD, 0.47 +/- 0.12; treated AD, 0.38 +/- 0.18), whereas a significant difference was found at follow-up (mean +/- SD optical density ratio: untreated AD, 0.45 +/- 0.17; treated AD, 0.77 +/- 0.29; P<.001).
Why it matters
A group of 30 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's had a protein ratio in their blood platelets measured before and after 30 days, with 20 of them taking donepezil (5 mg/d), a cholinesterase inhibitor. The ratio of amyloid precursor protein forms rose in the treated group (0.77) compared with the untreated group (0.45) at follow-up, and no adverse effects were reported. The authors suggest the drug may influence how amyloid precursor protein is handled, at least in cells outside the brain.
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Study details
- Study designclinical trial
- Participants30
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 44/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Archives of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Archives of Neurology: journal h-index 353 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | Design recorded as “clinical trial”, which our rubric does not rank (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 | 2001 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 30 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 79 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 2.9 citations a year over 27 year(s) since 2001 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Alessandro Padovani: h-index 102 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Milan: institution h-index 1,023 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 11255448) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 44 / 100 | — |
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