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50/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Risk genes beyond APOE

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Plain-language summary

Context Elevated beta-secretase (beta-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1 [BACE1]) activity has been found in the brains of patients with sporadic Alzheimer disease (AD) compared with controls. Now we are particularly interested in whether BACE1 can be identified in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a population at high risk for AD. The possible presence of BACE1 in the CSF of patients with AD and MCI has so far gone unreported.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Low

The record lists 59 participants. This study examined whether the enzyme BACE1 could be detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with mild cognitive impairment, a group at high risk for Alzheimer's disease. It is a diagnostic question about measuring a protein in fluid, not a test of any treatment, cure, or prevention.

Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Zhong, Z., Ewers, M., Teipel, S., Bürger, K., Wallin, A., Blennow, K., et al. (2007). Levels of beta-secretase (BACE1) in cerebrospinal fluid as a predictor of risk in mild cognitive impairment. Archives of general psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.64.6.718

Vancouver

Zhong Z, Ewers M, Teipel S, Bürger K, Wallin A, Blennow K, et al. Levels of beta-secretase (BACE1) in cerebrospinal fluid as a predictor of risk in mild cognitive impairment. Archives of general psychiatry. 2007. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.64.6.718. PMID: 17548753.

BibTeX

@article{zhong2007-17548753,
  author  = {Zhong, Z. and Ewers, M. and Teipel, S. and Bürger, K. and Wallin, A. and Blennow, K. and He, P. and McAllister, C. and others},
  title   = {{Levels of beta-secretase (BACE1) in cerebrospinal fluid as a predictor of risk in mild cognitive impairment}},
  journal = {Archives of general psychiatry},
  year    = {2007},
  doi     = {10.1001/archpsyc.64.6.718},
  pmid    = {17548753},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.64.6.718}
}

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.

How to read this study

Design: our record does not state a study design, so check the methods section of the original before weighing the result.
Size: the record lists 59 participants. Ask whether that is enough for the question, and who they were.
Effect: the record gives no effect size, so the summary above cannot say how large any difference was.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded low. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Low means the abstract matched neither pattern. It is the default label, and it does not mean the work is poor; many sound lab and imaging papers land here. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

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Key findings

Now we are particularly interested in whether BACE1 can be identified in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a population at high risk for AD.
The possible presence of BACE1 in the CSF of patients with AD and MCI has so far gone unreported.
Objective To examine whether BACE1 can be identified in the CSF of patients with MCI.
Design We evaluated CSF BACE1 levels using 2 sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, BACE1 enzymatic activities by means of synthetic fluorescence substrate, and total amyloid-beta peptide levels using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Why it matters

This study examined whether the enzyme BACE1 could be detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with mild cognitive impairment, a group at high risk for Alzheimer's disease. It is a diagnostic question about measuring a protein in fluid, not a test of any treatment, cure, or prevention.

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Study details

Participants59
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 50/100

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

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Archives of general psychiatry)
Journal's citation record	4 / 4	Archives of General Psychiatry: journal h-index 543 (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	2007 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	1 / 4	59 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)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 206 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	9.8 citations a year over 21 year(s) since 2007
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 8.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	3 / 6	Cited by 17 other studies in this library
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 13 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	2 / 4	Last-listed author Yong Shen: h-index 43 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München: institution h-index 1,224 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	PubMed indexes it as a multicentre study
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 17548753)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	50 / 100	—

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