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.

38/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 38 out of 100. Drug development

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Plain-language summary

Metformin is used for the treatment of insulin resistant diabetes. Diabetics are at an increased risk of developing dementia. Recent epidemiological studies suggest that metformin treatment prevents cognitive decline in diabetics. A pilot clinical study found cognitive improvement with metformin in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Preclinical studies suggest metformin reduces Alzheimer-like pathology in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the current study, we used 11-month-old SAMP8 mice. Mice were given daily injections of metformin at 20 mg/kg/sc or 200 mg/kg/sc for eight weeks. After four weeks, mice were tested in T-maze footshock avoidance, object recognition, and Barnes maze. At the end of the study, brain tissue was collected for analysis of PKC (PKCζ, PKCι, PKCα, PKCγ, PKCɛ), GSK-3β, pGSK-3βser9, pGSK-3βtyr216, pTau404, and APP. Metformin improved both acquisition and retention in SAMP8 mice in T-maze footshock avoidance, retention in novel object recognition, and acquisition in the Barnes maze. Biochemical analysis indicated that metformin increased both atypical and conventional forms of PKC; PKCζ, and PKCα at 20 mg/kg. Metformin significantly increased pGSK-3βser9 at 200 mg/kg, and decreased Aβ at 20 mg/kg and pTau404 and APPc99 at both 20 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg. There were no differences in blood glucose levels between the aged vehicle and metformin treated mice. Metformin improved learning and memory in the SAMP8 mouse model of spontaneous onset AD. Biochemical analysis indicates that metformin improved memory by decreasing APPc99 and pTau. The current study lends support to the therapeutic potential of metformin for AD.

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

APA 7th

Farr, S. A., Roesler, E., Niehoff, M. L., Roby, D. A., McKee, A., & Morley, J. E. (2019). Metformin Improves Learning and Memory in the SAMP8 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-181240

Vancouver

Farr SA, Roesler E, Niehoff ML, Roby DA, McKee A, Morley JE. Metformin Improves Learning and Memory in the SAMP8 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2019. doi:10.3233/jad-181240. PMID: 30958364.

BibTeX

@article{farr2019-30958364,
  author  = {Farr, S. A. and Roesler, E. and Niehoff, M. L. and Roby, D. A. and McKee, A. and Morley, J. E.},
  title   = {{Metformin Improves Learning and Memory in the SAMP8 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease}},
  journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD},
  year    = {2019},
  doi     = {10.3233/jad-181240},
  pmid    = {30958364},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-181240}
}

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.

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

Diabetics are at an increased risk of developing dementia.
Recent epidemiological studies suggest that metformin treatment prevents cognitive decline in diabetics.
Biochemical analysis indicated that metformin increased both atypical and conventional forms of PKC; PKCζ, and PKCα at 20 mg/kg.
Metformin significantly increased pGSK-3βser9 at 200 mg/kg, and decreased Aβ at 20 mg/kg and pTau404 and APPc99 at both 20 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg.
Biochemical analysis indicates that metformin improved memory by decreasing APPc99 and pTau.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Treatments →

Study details

Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 38/100

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 and multicenter collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 22 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 38 out of 100.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD)
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	2 / 5	2019 — within 10 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 “mouse”) — 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 30958364)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Points	22 / 58	Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 22 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 38 out of 100.
Total	38 / 100	—

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

Read the original

Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.

Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.

Related studies in Drug development from nearby years

Also tagged “improves-learning”

3 studies in the library carry the topic tag “improves-learning”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 3 tagged studies.

Studies sharing this one's topic tags

Similar studies

More on Drug development

See all studies in Drug development →