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Neuronal amyloid-β accumulation within cholinergic basal forebrain in ageing and Alzheimer's disease
Baker-Nigh A, Vahedi S, Davis EG, Weintraub S, Bigio EH, Klein WL, Geula C.. Brain : a journal of neurology, 2015-03-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
The mechanisms that contribute to selective vulnerability of the magnocellular basal forebrain cholinergic neurons in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, are not fully understood. Because age is the primary risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, mechanisms of interest must include age-related alterations in protein expression, cell type-specific markers and pathology. The present study explored the extent and characteristics of intraneuronal amyloid-β accumulation, particularly of the fibrillogenic 42-amino acid isoform, within basal forebrain cholinergic neurons in normal young, normal aged and Alzheimer's disease brains as a potential contributor to the selective vulnerability of these neurons using immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis.
Key findings
- Because age is the primary risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, mechanisms of interest must include age-related alterations in protein expression, cell type-specific markers and pathology.
- The present study explored the extent and characteristics of intraneuronal amyloid-β accumulation, particularly of the fibrillogenic 42-amino acid isoform, within basal forebrain cholinergic neurons in normal young, normal aged and Alzheimer's disease brains as a potential contributor to the selective vulnerability of these neurons using immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis.
- Amyloid-β1-42 immunoreactivity was observed in the entire cholinergic neuronal population regardless of age or Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.
- The magnitude of this accumulation as revealed by optical density measures was significantly greater than that in cortical pyramidal neurons, and magnocellular neurons in the globus pallidus did not demonstrate a similar extent of amyloid immunoreactivity.
Why it matters
This study examined whether amyloid-beta builds up inside cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain of young, aged, and Alzheimer's brains. It is a descriptive analysis of brain tissue and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 48/100
Published in a leading specialty 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 | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Brain : a journal of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Brain: journal h-index 503 (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 | 2015 — within 20 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 206 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 15.8 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 15.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 8 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 48 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Changiz Geula: h-index 63 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Northwestern University: institution h-index 1,592 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25732182) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 48 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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 names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Baker-Nigh, A., Vahedi, S., Davis, E. G., Weintraub, S., Bigio, E. H., Klein, W. L., et al. (2015). Neuronal amyloid-β accumulation within cholinergic basal forebrain in ageing and Alzheimer's disease. Brain : a journal of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awv024
Vancouver
Baker-Nigh A, Vahedi S, Davis EG, Weintraub S, Bigio EH, Klein WL, et al. Neuronal amyloid-β accumulation within cholinergic basal forebrain in ageing and Alzheimer's disease. Brain : a journal of neurology. 2015. doi:10.1093/brain/awv024. PMID: 25732182.
BibTeX
@article{bakernigh2015-25732182,
author = {Baker-Nigh, A. and Vahedi, S. and Davis, E. G. and Weintraub, S. and Bigio, E. H. and Klein, W. L. and Geula, C.},
title = {{Neuronal amyloid-β accumulation within cholinergic basal forebrain in ageing and Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Brain : a journal of neurology},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1093/brain/awv024},
pmid = {25732182},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awv024}
}
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