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Complement C1q-C3-associated synaptic changes in multiple sclerosis hippocampus
Michailidou I, Willems JG, Kooi EJ, van Eden C, Gold SM, Geurts JJ, Baas F, Huitinga I et al.. Annals of neurology, 2015-05-11
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Objective Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, leading to memory impairment in up to 65% of patients. Memory dysfunction in MS has been associated with loss of synapses in the hippocampus, but its molecular basis is unknown. Accumulating evidence suggests that components of the complement system, C1q and C3, can mediate elimination of synapses.
Key findings
- Memory dysfunction in MS has been associated with loss of synapses in the hippocampus, but its molecular basis is unknown.
- Accumulating evidence suggests that components of the complement system, C1q and C3, can mediate elimination of synapses.
- Methods To investigate the involvement of complement in synaptic changes in MS, gene and protein expression and localization of C1q and C3 were analyzed in relation to neuropathological changes in myelinated and demyelinated hippocampi from postmortem MS brains.
- Findings were compared to hippocampi of Alzheimer disease (AD) and non-neurological controls.
Why it matters
This study examined whether complement proteins C1q and C3 are involved in synapse loss in the hippocampus of people with multiple sclerosis, a disease different from Alzheimer's disease. It does not provide evidence about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a leading specialty 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 | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Annals of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Annals of Neurology: journal h-index 437 (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 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 230 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 17.7 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 12.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 60 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Valeria Ramaglia: h-index 29 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin: institution h-index 1,116 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25727254) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 47 / 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).
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
Michailidou, I., Willems, J. G., Kooi, E. J., van Eden, C., Gold, S. M., Geurts, J. J., et al. (2015). Complement C1q-C3-associated synaptic changes in multiple sclerosis hippocampus. Annals of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.24398
Vancouver
Michailidou I, Willems JG, Kooi EJ, van Eden C, Gold SM, Geurts JJ, et al. Complement C1q-C3-associated synaptic changes in multiple sclerosis hippocampus. Annals of neurology. 2015. doi:10.1002/ana.24398. PMID: 25727254.
BibTeX
@article{michailidou2015-25727254,
author = {Michailidou, I. and Willems, J. G. and Kooi, E. J. and van Eden, C. and Gold, S. M. and Geurts, J. J. and Baas, F. and Huitinga, I. and others},
title = {{Complement C1q-C3-associated synaptic changes in multiple sclerosis hippocampus}},
journal = {Annals of neurology},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1002/ana.24398},
pmid = {25727254},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.24398}
}
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1 study in the alzhub library lists this one in its references.