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41/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 41 out of 100. Drug development

Topic: Disease mechanisms in lab and animal studies

Plain-language summary

Accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) composed of hyperphosphorylated tau is a histopathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related tauopathies. Growing evidence demonstrated that tau pathology in AD spreads in a prion-like manner. Previous studies showed that metformin might have a positive effect on cognition. However, the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of metformin on tau propagation. Brain extracts containing tau aggregates were unilaterally injected into the hippocampus and the overlying cerebral cortex of PS19 mice. Metformin was administrated through drinking water for four months, and we observed tau spreading in the brain of tau-seeded PS19 mice. Metformin inhibited the spreading of tau pathology in the ipsilateral hemisphere, attenuated tau pathology in the contralateral hemisphere, and reduced the hyperphosphorylation of tau at Ser202/Thr205, Thr231, and Ser422 sites in the soluble fraction and Ser202/Thr205, Ser262, Thr396, Thr231, and Ser422 sites in the insoluble fraction of tau-seeded PS19 mice brains. Metformin did not affect tau kinases or phosphatase 2A protein levels but reduced mTORC1 protein levels. Additionally, metformin reduced learning and memory deficits of the tau-seeded PS19 mice. These findings indicate that metformin reduced tau hyperphosphorylation, attenuated tau pathology in tau-seeded PS19 mice, and improved learning and memory deficits. These findings highlight the potential mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of metformin on cognition, implying that metformin could be a promising drug for the prevention and early treatment of AD.

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

APA 7th

Zhao, S., Fan, Z., Zhang, X., Li, Z., Shen, T., Li, K., et al. (2023). Metformin Attenuates Tau Pathology in Tau-Seeded PS19 Mice. Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-022-01316-6

Vancouver

Zhao S, Fan Z, Zhang X, Li Z, Shen T, Li K, et al. Metformin Attenuates Tau Pathology in Tau-Seeded PS19 Mice. Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics. 2023. doi:10.1007/s13311-022-01316-6. PMID: 36422837.

BibTeX

@article{zhao2023-36422837,
  author  = {Zhao, Shuai and Fan, Ziqi and Zhang, Xinyi and Li, Zheyu and Shen, Ting and Li, Kaicheng and Yan, Yaping and Yuan, Yunfeng and others},
  title   = {{Metformin Attenuates Tau Pathology in Tau-Seeded PS19 Mice}},
  journal = {Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics},
  year    = {2023},
  doi     = {10.1007/s13311-022-01316-6},
  pmid    = {36422837},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-022-01316-6}
}

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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.
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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

Growing evidence demonstrated that tau pathology in AD spreads in a prion-like manner.
Previous studies showed that metformin might have a positive effect on cognition.
Metformin was administrated through drinking water for four months, and we observed tau spreading in the brain of tau-seeded PS19 mice.
These findings indicate that metformin reduced tau hyperphosphorylation, attenuated tau pathology in tau-seeded PS19 mice, and improved learning and memory deficits.
These findings highlight the potential mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of metformin on cognition, implying that metformin could be a promising drug for the prevention and early treatment of AD.

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Study details

Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 41/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multicenter collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 23 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 41 out of 100.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics)
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	3 / 5	2023 — within 6 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
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	— / 7	No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score
Citations per year	— / 5	No citation count or no year — left out of this score
Impact for its field and year	— / 6	No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score
Cited by studies here	— / 6	Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score
Still being cited	— / 4	No yearly citation counts — left out of this score
Senior author's track record	— / 4	Senior author's record not available — left out of this score
Institution's track record	— / 3	No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score
Multicenter collaboration	— / 3	Institutions not listed — left out of this score
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 36422837)
Free to read	— / 2	Access not recorded — left out of this score
Points	23 / 56	Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 23 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 41 out of 100.
Total	41 / 100	—

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