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Evidence against increased oxidative DNA-damage in Down syndrome
Seidl R, Greber S, Schuller E, Bernert G, Cairns N, Lubec G.. Neuroscience letters, 1997-10-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
In Down syndrome (DS), oxidative DNA-damage may play a role in the pathogenesis of characteristic mental retardation and precocious dementia of Alzheimer type. We measured the oxidized nucleoside, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), in nuclear DNA (nDNA) isolated from four different regions of cerebral cortex and cerebellum in 10 adult DS and 10 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients compared to normal controls. Levels of 8-OHdG in post-mortem brain tissue were investigated by means of high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. There was no significant increase in DS and AD compared to controls in any of the brain regions. Highest amounts of 8-OHdG were in temporal cortex in DS (180.0 +/- 9.6 nmol/g wet weight tissue), AD (172.4 +/- 14.6 nmol/g wet weight tissue) and controls (183.4 +/- 12.7 nmol/g). We conclude that the results provide evidence against an increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced damage to nDNA in DS and AD.
Key findings
- We measured the oxidized nucleoside, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), in nuclear DNA (nDNA) isolated from four different regions of cerebral cortex and cerebellum in 10 adult DS and 10 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients compared to normal controls.
- There was no significant increase in DS and AD compared to controls in any of the brain regions.
- We conclude that the results provide evidence against an increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced damage to nDNA in DS and AD.
Why it matters
This study found no significant increase in oxidative DNA damage in the brains of people with Down syndrome or Alzheimer disease compared to controls. It provides evidence against a role for this type of damage, and it does not test any treatment or prevention.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a peer-reviewed 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 | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neuroscience letters) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Neuroscience Letters: journal h-index 267 (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 | 1997 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| 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 | 4 / 7 | Cited 46 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.5 citations a year over 31 year(s) since 1997 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 1 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Gert Lübec: h-index 70 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Vienna: institution h-index 851 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 9406888) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Seidl, R., Greber, S., Schuller, E., Bernert, G., Cairns, N., & Lubec, G. (1997). Evidence against increased oxidative DNA-damage in Down syndrome. Neuroscience letters. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-3940(97)00748-9
Vancouver
Seidl R, Greber S, Schuller E, Bernert G, Cairns N, Lubec G. Evidence against increased oxidative DNA-damage in Down syndrome. Neuroscience letters. 1997. doi:10.1016/s0304-3940(97)00748-9. PMID: 9406888.
BibTeX
@article{seidl1997-9406888,
author = {Seidl, R. and Greber, S. and Schuller, E. and Bernert, G. and Cairns, N. and Lubec, G.},
title = {{Evidence against increased oxidative DNA-damage in Down syndrome}},
journal = {Neuroscience letters},
year = {1997},
doi = {10.1016/s0304-3940(97)00748-9},
pmid = {9406888},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-3940(97)00748-9}
}
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