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Early neuropathological Alzheimer's changes in aged individuals are accompanied by decreased cerebrospinal fluid melatonin levels
Zhou JN, Liu RY, Kamphorst W, Hofman MA, Swaab DF.. Journal of pineal research, 2003-09-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Neuropathology is the most reliable criterion for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD). A well-established system for staging the spread of neuropathological changes in AD is available. The clinical use of a biomarker that reflects the neuropathological change occurring in brain tissue has not yet been established. Melatonin is a product that plays not only a major role in the regulation of the circadian rhythms but may also exert neuroprotective effects in AD. Melatonin levels were determined in ventricular postmortem cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 121 subjects. Braak staging and a modified Braak staging for cortex (MBSC) were used to evaluate the severity of AD neuropathology. The present study revealed that not only the Braak stages of AD, but also the MBSC were negatively correlated with CSF melatonin levels. By using MBSC, we now demonstrate for the first time that CSF melatonin levels were significantly decreased in the aged individuals with early neuropathological changes in the temporal cortex, where the AD process starts. Those individuals that did not have any neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) or neuritic plaque (NP) in the temporal cortex, had much higher melatonin levels (287 +/- 68 and 280 +/- 64 pg/mL, respectively) than those individuals that had a few NFTs and NPs (82 +/- 4 and 39 +/- 8 pg/mL, respectively) in the temporal cortex. These results suggest that the decrease in CSF melatonin levels may be an early event in the development of AD possibly occurring even before the clinical symptoms.
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APA 7th
Zhou, J. N., Liu, R. Y., Kamphorst, W., Hofman, M. A., & Swaab, D. F. (2003). Early neuropathological Alzheimer's changes in aged individuals are accompanied by decreased cerebrospinal fluid melatonin levels. Journal of pineal research. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-079x.2003.00065.x
Vancouver
Zhou JN, Liu RY, Kamphorst W, Hofman MA, Swaab DF. Early neuropathological Alzheimer's changes in aged individuals are accompanied by decreased cerebrospinal fluid melatonin levels. Journal of pineal research. 2003. doi:10.1034/j.1600-079x.2003.00065.x. PMID: 12887656.
BibTeX
@article{zhou2003-12887656,
author = {Zhou, J. N. and Liu, R. Y. and Kamphorst, W. and Hofman, M. A. and Swaab, D. F.},
title = {{Early neuropathological Alzheimer's changes in aged individuals are accompanied by decreased cerebrospinal fluid melatonin levels}},
journal = {Journal of pineal research},
year = {2003},
doi = {10.1034/j.1600-079x.2003.00065.x},
pmid = {12887656},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-079x.2003.00065.x}
}
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Key findings
- The present study revealed that not only the Braak stages of AD, but also the MBSC were negatively correlated with CSF melatonin levels.
- By using MBSC, we now demonstrate for the first time that CSF melatonin levels were significantly decreased in the aged individuals with early neuropathological changes in the temporal cortex, where the AD process starts.
- These results suggest that the decrease in CSF melatonin levels may be an early event in the development of AD possibly occurring even before the clinical symptoms.
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Study details
- Participants121
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported 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 26 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 45 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of pineal research) |
| 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 | 2 / 4 | 121 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 | — / 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 12887656) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 26 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 26 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 45 out of 100. |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
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