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34/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 34 out of 100. Disease mechanisms

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Plain-language summary

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related tauopathies such as frontotemporal dementia (FTD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI) are neurodegenerative disorders characterized by progressive loss of memory and cognitive function. The main histopathological features of AD are amyloid-β plaques and Tau neurofibrillary tangles, suggested to interfere with neuronal function and to cause microtubule (MT) destabilization. We recently demonstrated that low mechanical forces promote MT stabilization, which in turn promotes axon growth and neuronal maturation. As neurites may become dystrophic due to MT destabilization in tauopathies, we hypothesized that force-induced MT stabilization is neuroprotective in cell models subjected to tauopathy-like stress. We set up two different pathological cellular models subjecting them to AD-related Tau pathology stressors. We found that exposure of mouse primary neurons to Tau oligomers and neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) to amyloid-β oligomers resulted in neurotoxic effects such as axonal shortening, reduction in dendrite number, and MT destabilization. Mechanical stimulation (i) prevented delays in axonal extensions and dendrite sprouting, restoring axon outgrowth to physiological levels, and (ii) compensated for axonal MT destabilization by increasing MT stability to levels higher than in control conditions. In summary, we here demonstrate that low mechanical force can be used as a neuroprotective extrinsic factor to prevent MT destabilization and axon degeneration caused by AD-like or tauopathy-like stressors.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Low

In cell models exposed to tau or amyloid-beta oligomers, mechanical stimulation prevented axon and dendrite loss and raised microtubule stability above normal levels. These are laboratory cell experiments, so it is too early to say whether this approach could help patients.

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

Galeotti, A. A., Santucci, L., Klimek, J., Kabbani, M. A. A., Zempel, H., & Raffa, V. (2025). Mechanical stimulation prevents impairment of axon growth and overcompensates microtubule destabilization in cellular models of Alzheimer’s disease and related Tau pathologies. Frontiers in Medicine. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2025.1519628

Vancouver

Galeotti AA, Santucci L, Klimek J, Kabbani MAA, Zempel H, Raffa V. Mechanical stimulation prevents impairment of axon growth and overcompensates microtubule destabilization in cellular models of Alzheimer’s disease and related Tau pathologies. Frontiers in Medicine. 2025. doi:10.3389/fmed.2025.1519628. PMID: 40438379.

BibTeX

@article{galeotti2025-40438379,
  author  = {Galeotti, Alice Alessandra and Santucci, Lorenzo and Klimek, Jennifer and Kabbani, Mohamed Aghyad Al and Zempel, Hans and Raffa, Vittoria},
  title   = {{Mechanical stimulation prevents impairment of axon growth and overcompensates microtubule destabilization in cellular models of Alzheimer’s disease and related Tau pathologies}},
  journal = {Frontiers in Medicine},
  year    = {2025},
  doi     = {10.3389/fmed.2025.1519628},
  pmid    = {40438379},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2025.1519628}
}

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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 gives no participant count. Look for one in the original before trusting a pattern.
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.

New to reading papers? Six questions to ask of any Alzheimer’s study · how we score.

Key findings

We recently demonstrated that low mechanical forces promote MT stabilization, which in turn promotes axon growth and neuronal maturation.
We found that exposure of mouse primary neurons to Tau oligomers and neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) to amyloid-β oligomers resulted in neurotoxic effects such as axonal shortening, reduction in dendrite number, and MT destabilization.

Why it matters

Study details

Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 34/100

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

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in Medicine)
Journal's citation record	1 / 4	Frontiers in Medicine: journal h-index 149 (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	4 / 5	2025 — within 3 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	Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	1 / 7	Cited 2 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	0 / 5	0.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025
Impact for its field and year	2 / 6	Cited 1.1× 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 2 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	2 / 4	Last-listed author Vittoria Raffa: h-index 38 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	University of Pisa: institution h-index 907 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40438379)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	34 / 100	—

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

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