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Cutaneous Phosphorylated Alpha‐Synuclein in Lewy Body Dementia
Christopher H. Gibbons, Todd Levine, Charles H. Adler, Bailey Bellaire, Ningshan Wang, Pinky Agarwal, Georgina M. Aldridge, Alexandru Barboi et al.. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, 2025-12-25
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
After expert panel review, only 50/67 patients met consensus criteria for DLB, 26/151 controls had a reduced MoCA, and 120/151 controls had a normal MoCA. The proportions of subjects with cutaneous P-SYN detected by skin biopsy were 96.0% (48 of 50) of the DLB group, 31% (8 of 26) of the controls with reduced MoCA, and 3.3% (4 of 120) of the controls with normal MoCA. In this prospective, blinded, cross-sectional study, a high proportion of subjects meeting clinical consensus criteria for DLB had P-SYN detected in skin biopsies. Almost 1/3 of subjects with reduced MoCA testing also had P-SYN detected. These results support a role for skin biopsy detection of P-SYN in patients with DLB. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04700722.
Key findings
- After expert panel review, only 50/67 patients met consensus criteria for DLB, 26/151 controls had a reduced MoCA, and 120/151 controls had a normal MoCA.
- The proportions of subjects with cutaneous P-SYN detected by skin biopsy were 96.0% (48 of 50) of the DLB group, 31% (8 of 26) of the controls with reduced MoCA, and 3.3% (4 of 120) of the controls with normal MoCA.
- In this prospective, blinded, cross-sectional study, a high proportion of subjects meeting clinical consensus criteria for DLB had P-SYN detected in skin biopsies.
- Almost 1/3 of subjects with reduced MoCA testing also had P-SYN detected.
- These results support a role for skin biopsy detection of P-SYN in patients with DLB.
Why it matters
This cross-sectional study found that a high proportion of subjects meeting clinical criteria for dementia with Lewy bodies had phosphorylated alpha-synuclein detected in skin biopsies. It supports a role for skin biopsy detection in diagnosis, not treatment, cure, or prevention.
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Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants151
- Effect size96.0%; 3.3%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 52/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology: journal h-index 97 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| 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 | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 151 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| 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 | 1 / 7 | Cited 3 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.7× 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 | 1 / 4 | Cited 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Roy L. Freeman: h-index 83 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 25 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41449577) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 52 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1002/acn3.70291
- PubMed: 41449577
- Original source →
- Free full text: Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology →
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
Gibbons, C. H., Levine, T., Adler, C. H., Bellaire, B., Wang, N., Agarwal, P., et al. (2025). Cutaneous Phosphorylated Alpha‐Synuclein in Lewy Body Dementia. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1002/acn3.70291
Vancouver
Gibbons CH, Levine T, Adler CH, Bellaire B, Wang N, Agarwal P, et al. Cutaneous Phosphorylated Alpha‐Synuclein in Lewy Body Dementia. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. 2025. doi:10.1002/acn3.70291. PMID: 41449577.
BibTeX
@article{gibbons2025-41449577,
author = {Gibbons, Christopher H. and Levine, Todd and Adler, Charles H. and Bellaire, Bailey and Wang, Ningshan and Agarwal, Pinky and Aldridge, Georgina M. and Barboi, Alexandru and others},
title = {{Cutaneous Phosphorylated Alpha‐Synuclein in Lewy Body Dementia}},
journal = {Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/acn3.70291},
pmid = {41449577},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/acn3.70291}
}
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