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Morphologic association between microglia and senile plaque amyloid in Alzheimer's disease
Perlmutter LS, Barron E, Chui HC.. Neuroscience letters, 1990-10-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Alzheimer senile plaques are comprised of extracellular deposits of beta-amyloid. The cell type responsible for the secretion of this amyloid, however, is unknown. In the present study, compact amyloid 'stars' and the cellular elements directly apposed to them were examined at the ultrastructural level.
Key findings
- The cell type responsible for the secretion of this amyloid, however, is unknown.
- In the present study, compact amyloid 'stars' and the cellular elements directly apposed to them were examined at the ultrastructural level.
- In many cases, amyloid fibrils were closely interdigitated with the plasma membrane of cells with dark cytoplasm, dense bodies and distinctive nuclei.
- These cells were morphologically identified as microglia, the resident macrophages of the brain.
Why it matters
This ultrastructural study found amyloid fibrils closely interdigitated with cells identified morphologically as microglia, the brain's resident macrophages. It is a descriptive tissue study and tests no treatment, cure or prevention.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 41 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 43 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neuroscience letters) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Neuroscience Letters: journal h-index 267 (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 | 1990 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 241 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 6.3 citations a year over 38 year(s) since 1990 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.1× 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 10 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Helena Chang Chui holds only 8 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Southern California: institution h-index 1,521 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 2097581) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 41 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 41 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 43 out of 100. |
| Total | 43 / 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
Perlmutter, L. S., Barron, E., & Chui, H. C. (1990). Morphologic association between microglia and senile plaque amyloid in Alzheimer's disease. Neuroscience letters. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3940(90)90748-x
Vancouver
Perlmutter LS, Barron E, Chui HC. Morphologic association between microglia and senile plaque amyloid in Alzheimer's disease. Neuroscience letters. 1990. doi:10.1016/0304-3940(90)90748-x. PMID: 2097581.
BibTeX
@article{perlmutter1990-2097581,
author = {Perlmutter, L. S. and Barron, E. and Chui, H. C.},
title = {{Morphologic association between microglia and senile plaque amyloid in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Neuroscience letters},
year = {1990},
doi = {10.1016/0304-3940(90)90748-x},
pmid = {2097581},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3940(90)90748-x}
}
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
17 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.