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Down syndrome: age-dependence of PiB binding in postmortem frontal cortex across the lifespan
LeVine H, Spielmann HP, Matveev S, Cauvi FM, Murphy MP, Beckett TL, McCarty K, Lott IT et al.. Neurobiology of aging, 2017-03-14
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Beta-amyloid (Aβ) deposition in brain accumulates as a function of age in people with Down syndrome (DS) with subsequent development into Alzheimer disease neuropathology, typically by 40 years of age. In vivo imaging using the Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) ligand has facilitated studies linking Aβ, cognition, and dementia in DS. However, there are no studies of PiB binding across the lifespan in DS. The current study describes in vitro 3 H-PiB binding in the frontal cortex of autopsy cases with DS compared to non-DS controls. Tissue from 64 cases included controls (n = 25) and DS (n = 39). In DS, 3 H-PiB binding was significantly associated with age. After age 40 years in DS, 3 H-PiB binding rose dramatically along with increasing individual variability. 3 H-PiB binding correlated with the amount of Aβ42. Using fixed frontal tissue and fluorescent 6-CN-PiB, neuritic and cored plaques along with extensive cerebral amyloid angiopathy showed 6-CN-PiB binding. These results suggest that cortical PiB binding as shown by positron emission tomography imaging reflects plaques and cerebral amyloid angiopathy in DS brain.
Key findings
- The current study describes in vitro 3 H-PiB binding in the frontal cortex of autopsy cases with DS compared to non-DS controls.
- In DS, 3 H-PiB binding was significantly associated with age.
- These results suggest that cortical PiB binding as shown by positron emission tomography imaging reflects plaques and cerebral amyloid angiopathy in DS brain.
Why it matters
In postmortem frontal cortex tissue, this study found that PiB binding to amyloid increased with age in Down syndrome and rose sharply after age 40. The results suggest that PiB imaging reflects plaques and amyloid in blood vessels in the Down syndrome brain, but this is a tissue study and not a treatment.
Study details
- Participants25
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neurobiology of aging) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Neurobiology of Aging: journal h-index 263 (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 | 2 / 5 | 2017 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 25 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 26 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 2.4 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 2.6× 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 | 1 / 4 | Cited 4 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Elizabeth Head: h-index 98 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of California, Irvine: institution h-index 1,195 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28385551) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 43 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.03.005
- PubMed: 28385551
- Original source →
- Free full text: eScholarship (California Digital Library) →
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
LeVine, H., Spielmann, H. P., Matveev, S., Cauvi, F. M., Murphy, M. P., Beckett, T. L., et al. (2017). Down syndrome: age-dependence of PiB binding in postmortem frontal cortex across the lifespan. Neurobiology of aging. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.03.005
Vancouver
LeVine H, Spielmann HP, Matveev S, Cauvi FM, Murphy MP, Beckett TL, et al. Down syndrome: age-dependence of PiB binding in postmortem frontal cortex across the lifespan. Neurobiology of aging. 2017. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.03.005. PMID: 28385551.
BibTeX
@article{levine2017-28385551,
author = {LeVine, H. and Spielmann, H. P. and Matveev, S. and Cauvi, F. M. and Murphy, M. P. and Beckett, T. L. and McCarty, K. and Lott, I. T. and others},
title = {{Down syndrome: age-dependence of PiB binding in postmortem frontal cortex across the lifespan}},
journal = {Neurobiology of aging},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.03.005},
pmid = {28385551},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.03.005}
}
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