Get help now — free helplines

You can call any of these for free. You do not need a diagnosis, an appointment, or a crisis to call — questions and plain exhaustion are reasons enough.

  • Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline 800-272-3900 24 hours a day, 365 days a year Free, confidential support and information for people with dementia, caregivers, families and the public. Master's-level clinicians. Also Spanish.
  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 988 24/7 Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. For anyone in emotional distress or a mental-health crisis, including caregivers.
  • Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) Helpline 866-232-8484 9:00 am - 9:00 pm ET, seven days a week Licensed social workers providing support, info and referrals. Also text message and web chat. Text: 646-586-5283

In a medical emergency, call 911. More numbers, and what each line does, on the help page.

This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 35 out of 100. Down syndrome and Alzheimer's

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

IgG subclasses were measured in sera from 33 persons with Down syndrome (DS) (mean age 55 +/- 7 years) and 33 age- and sex-matched control individuals using a mouse monoclonal antibody based sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Significantly higher levels of IgG1 and IgG3 and lower levels of IgG2 and IgG4 subclasses were found in the DS group compared to the control individuals. The higher levels of IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses found in DS persons were consistent with those seen in patients with autoimmune diseases and chronic viral infections; the lower levels of IgG2 and IgG4 subclasses were consistent with those seen in patients with recurrent infections. Our findings are similar to those reported in children with DS. We speculate that the subclass levels may have little or no relationship to the development of brain lesions typical of Alzheimer disease in older persons with DS. There were no significant differences between the levels of IgG subclasses of persons with DS showing signs of dementia of the Alzheimer type compared to those without such manifestations.

Key findings

Why it matters

In 33 older people with Down syndrome, levels of IgG1 and IgG3 were higher and IgG2 and IgG4 lower than in matched controls, a pattern seen in autoimmune diseases and chronic infections. There were no significant differences in IgG subclass levels between those with signs of Alzheimer-type dementia and those without, and the authors speculate these levels may have little or no relationship to the brain lesions of Alzheimer's disease.

Study details

How this study scored 35/100
How this study's score is builtJournal tier 7 of 10; Journal's citation record 2 of 4; Study design 0 of 12; Strength of evidence 1 of 5; Peer-review validation 10 of 10; How recent 1 of 5; Sample size 1 of 4; Effect reported 0 of 3; Studied in people 3 of 3; Randomised / blinded 0 of 2; Times cited 2 of 7; Citations per year 0 of 5; Impact for its field and year 0 of 6; Cited by studies here 1 of 6; Still being cited 0 of 4; Senior author's track record 2 of 4; Institution's track record 2 of 3; Multi-centre collaboration 1 of 3; Indexed in PubMed 2 of 2; Free to read 0 of 2. Total 35 of 100.35 of 100 points earned65 not earned

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

ComponentPointsWhy
Journal tier 7 / 10 Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the neurological sciences)
Journal's citation record 2 / 4 Journal of the Neurological Sciences: journal h-index 233 (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 1993 — older than 20 years, still counted
Sample size 1 / 4 33 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 2 / 7 Cited 8 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year 0 / 5 0.2 citations a year over 35 year(s) since 1993
Impact for its field and year 0 / 6 Cited 0.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here 1 / 6 Cited by 1 other studies in this library
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 Henryk M. Wisniewski: h-index 40 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record 2 / 3 University of Toronto: institution h-index 1,923 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration 1 / 3 OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed 2 / 2 Indexed in PubMed (PMID 8410055)
Free to read 0 / 2 Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total 35 / 100 —

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.

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

Mehta, P. D., Dalton, A. J., Mehta, S. P., Percy, M. E., Sersen, E. A., & Wisniewski, H. M. (1993). Immunoglobulin G subclasses in older persons with Down syndrome. Journal of the neurological sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-510x(93)90172-u

Vancouver

Mehta PD, Dalton AJ, Mehta SP, Percy ME, Sersen EA, Wisniewski HM. Immunoglobulin G subclasses in older persons with Down syndrome. Journal of the neurological sciences. 1993. doi:10.1016/0022-510x(93)90172-u. PMID: 8410055.

BibTeX

@article{mehta1993-8410055,
  author  = {Mehta, P. D. and Dalton, A. J. and Mehta, S. P. and Percy, M. E. and Sersen, E. A. and Wisniewski, H. M.},
  title   = {{Immunoglobulin G subclasses in older persons with Down syndrome}},
  journal = {Journal of the neurological sciences},
  year    = {1993},
  doi     = {10.1016/0022-510x(93)90172-u},
  pmid    = {8410055},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-510x(93)90172-u}
}

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.

Later studies that cite this one

1 study in the alzhub library lists this one in its references.

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.

Similar studies

More on Down syndrome and Alzheimer's

See all studies in Down syndrome and Alzheimer's →