Home › Research › Down syndrome and Alzheimer's
Fecal corticosterone levels in RCAN1 mutant mice
Rakowski-Anderson T, Wong H, Rothermel B, Cain P, Lavilla C, Pullium JK, Hoeffer C.. Comparative medicine, 2012-04-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) is related to the expression of human neurologic disorders such as Down syndrome, Alzheimer disease, and chromosome 21q deletion syndrome. We showed here that RCAN1-knockout mice exhibit reduced innate anxiety as indicated by the elevated-plus maze. To examine whether glucocorticoids contribute to this phenotype, we measured fecal corticosterone in male wildtype and RCAN1-knockout mice and in male and female transgenic mice with neuronal overexpression of RCAN1 (Tg-RCAN1(TG)). We found no difference in fecal corticosterone levels of RCAN1-knockout mice and their wildtype littermates. As expected, we found differences between sexes in fecal corticosterone levels. In addition, we found higher levels of excreted corticosterone in Tg-RCAN1(TG) female mice as compared with female wildtype mice. Our data indicate normal diurnal corticosterone production in RCAN1 mutant mice and do not suggest a causal role in either the cognitive or anxiety phenotypes exhibited by RCAN1-knockout mice.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Rakowski-Anderson, T., Wong, H., Rothermel, B., Cain, P., Lavilla, C., Pullium, J. K., et al. (2012). Fecal corticosterone levels in RCAN1 mutant mice. Comparative medicine.
Vancouver
Rakowski-Anderson T, Wong H, Rothermel B, Cain P, Lavilla C, Pullium JK, et al. Fecal corticosterone levels in RCAN1 mutant mice. Comparative medicine. 2012. PMID: 22546913.
BibTeX
@article{rakowskianderson2012-22546913,
author = {Rakowski-Anderson, T. and Wong, H. and Rothermel, B. and Cain, P. and Lavilla, C. and Pullium, J. K. and Hoeffer, C.},
title = {{Fecal corticosterone levels in RCAN1 mutant mice}},
journal = {Comparative medicine},
year = {2012},
pmid = {22546913}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. This record has no DOI, so the citation leaves it out. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- We found no difference in fecal corticosterone levels of RCAN1-knockout mice and their wildtype littermates.
- As expected, we found differences between sexes in fecal corticosterone levels.
- In addition, we found higher levels of excreted corticosterone in Tg-RCAN1(TG) female mice as compared with female wildtype mice.
Why it matters
In mice with RCAN1 mutations, fecal corticosterone levels were normal in knockouts, and the authors found no evidence that corticosterone plays a causal role in the cognitive or anxiety behaviors seen in these mice. This is animal work and does not test any Alzheimer's treatment or prevention.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 30/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, so that was left out: it earned 29 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 30 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Comparative medicine) |
| 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 | 2012 — 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 | Laboratory or animal study (title names “mice”) — scores zero |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 6 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.4 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.2× 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 | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Charles A. Hoeffer: h-index 28 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | New York University: institution h-index 1,612 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22546913) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 29 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 29 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 30 out of 100. |
| Total | 30 / 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).
Related studies in Down syndrome and Alzheimer's
Also tagged “down”
527 studies in the library carry the topic tag “down”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 527 tagged studies.