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Neuroinflammatory Processes, A1 Astrocyte Activation and Protein Aggregation in the Retina of Alzheimer's Disease Patients, Possible Biomarkers for Early Diagnosis
Grimaldi A, Pediconi N, Oieni F, Pizzarelli R, Rosito M, Giubettini M, Santini T, Limatola C et al.. Frontiers in neuroscience, 2019-09-04
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Alzheimer's disease (AD), a primary cause of dementia in the aging population, is characterized by extracellular amyloid-beta peptides aggregation, intracellular deposits of hyperphosphorylated tau, neurodegeneration and glial activation in the brain. It is commonly thought that the lack of early diagnostic criteria is among the main causes of pharmacological therapy and clinical trials failure; therefore, the actual challenge is to define new biomarkers and non-invasive technologies to measure neuropathological changes in vivo at pre-symptomatic stages. Recent evidences obtained from human samples and mouse models indicate the possibility to detect protein aggregates and other pathological features in the retina, paving the road for non-invasive rapid detection of AD biomarkers.
Key findings
- It is commonly thought that the lack of early diagnostic criteria is among the main causes of pharmacological therapy and clinical trials failure; therefore, the actual challenge is to define new biomarkers and non-invasive technologies to measure neuropathological changes in vivo at pre-symptomatic stages.
- Recent evidences obtained from human samples and mouse models indicate the possibility to detect protein aggregates and other pathological features in the retina, paving the road for non-invasive rapid detection of AD biomarkers.
- Here, we report the presence of amyloid beta plaques, tau tangles, neurodegeneration and detrimental astrocyte and microglia activation according to a disease associated microglia phenotype (DAM).
- Thus, we propose the human retina as a useful site for the detection of cellular and molecular changes associated with Alzheimer's disease.
Why it matters
The lack of early diagnostic criteria is commonly thought to contribute to the failure of Alzheimer's drug therapy and clinical trials, so new biomarkers measurable before symptoms are needed. Evidence from human samples and mouse models suggests protein aggregates and other pathological features may be detectable in the retina, which could allow non-invasive rapid detection.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 47/100
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.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in neuroscience) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Frontiers in Neuroscience: journal h-index 226 (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 | 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 | 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 159 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 17.7 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 68 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Silvia Di Angelantonio: h-index 35 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Sapienza University of Rome: institution h-index 1,145 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31551688) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00925
- PubMed: 31551688
- Original source →
- Free full text: Frontiers in Neuroscience →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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. 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.
APA 7th
Grimaldi, A., Pediconi, N., Oieni, F., Pizzarelli, R., Rosito, M., Giubettini, M., et al. (2019). Neuroinflammatory Processes, A1 Astrocyte Activation and Protein Aggregation in the Retina of Alzheimer's Disease Patients, Possible Biomarkers for Early Diagnosis. Frontiers in neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2019.00925
Vancouver
Grimaldi A, Pediconi N, Oieni F, Pizzarelli R, Rosito M, Giubettini M, et al. Neuroinflammatory Processes, A1 Astrocyte Activation and Protein Aggregation in the Retina of Alzheimer's Disease Patients, Possible Biomarkers for Early Diagnosis. Frontiers in neuroscience. 2019. doi:10.3389/fnins.2019.00925. PMID: 31551688.
BibTeX
@article{grimaldi2019-31551688,
author = {Grimaldi, A. and Pediconi, N. and Oieni, F. and Pizzarelli, R. and Rosito, M. and Giubettini, M. and Santini, T. and Limatola, C. and others},
title = {{Neuroinflammatory Processes, A1 Astrocyte Activation and Protein Aggregation in the Retina of Alzheimer's Disease Patients, Possible Biomarkers for Early Diagnosis}},
journal = {Frontiers in neuroscience},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.3389/fnins.2019.00925},
pmid = {31551688},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2019.00925}
}
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