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Neuronal hypertrophy in asymptomatic Alzheimer disease
Iacono D, O'Brien R, Resnick SM, Zonderman AB, Pletnikova O, Rudow G, An Y, West MJ et al.. Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology, 2008-06-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
The pathologic changes of Alzheimer disease (AD) evolve very gradually over decades before the disease becomes clinically manifest. Thus, it is not uncommon to find substantial numbers of Abeta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in autopsy brains of older subjects with documented normal cognition, a state that we define as asymptomatic AD (ASYMAD). The goal of this study is to understand the morphometric substrate of ASYMAD subjects compared with mild cognitive impairment and definite AD cases. We used designed-based stereology to measure the volumes of neuronal cell bodies, nuclei, and nucleoli in 4 cerebral regions: anterior cingulate gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus, primary visual cortex, and CA1 of hippocampus. We examined and compared autopsy brains from 4 groups (n = 15 each) of participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging: ASYMAD, mild cognitive impairment, AD, and age-matched controls. We found significant hypertrophy of the neuronal cell bodies, nuclei, and nucleoli of CA1 of hippocampus and anterior cingulate gyrus neurons in ASYMAD subjects compared with control and mild cognitive impairment cases. In the posterior cingulate gyrus and primary visual cortex, the hypertrophy was limited to the nuclei and nucleoli. The hypertrophy of cortical neurons and their nuclei and nucleoli in ASYMAD may represent an early reaction to the presence of neurotoxic Abeta or tau, or a compensatory mechanism that prevents the progression of the disease into dementia.
Key findings
- The goal of this study is to understand the morphometric substrate of ASYMAD subjects compared with mild cognitive impairment and definite AD cases.
- We found significant hypertrophy of the neuronal cell bodies, nuclei, and nucleoli of CA1 of hippocampus and anterior cingulate gyrus neurons in ASYMAD subjects compared with control and mild cognitive impairment cases.
Why it matters
In autopsy brains, people with asymptomatic Alzheimer's disease showed significant hypertrophy of neuronal cell bodies, nuclei and nucleoli in the hippocampus and anterior cingulate gyrus compared with control and mild cognitive impairment cases. The authors suggest this hypertrophy may represent an early reaction to the presence of neurotoxic amyloid.
Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants15
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 61/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology: journal h-index 239 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2008 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 15 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 188 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 9.4 citations a year over 20 year(s) since 2008 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 10 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 37 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Juan Carlos Troncoso: h-index 119 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | National Institutes of Health: institution h-index 2,723 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 18520776) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 61 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1097/nen.0b013e3181772794
- PubMed: 18520776
- Original source →
- Free full text: Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology →
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
Iacono, D., O'Brien, R., Resnick, S. M., Zonderman, A. B., Pletnikova, O., Rudow, G., et al. (2008). Neuronal hypertrophy in asymptomatic Alzheimer disease. Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology. https://doi.org/10.1097/nen.0b013e3181772794
Vancouver
Iacono D, O'Brien R, Resnick SM, Zonderman AB, Pletnikova O, Rudow G, et al. Neuronal hypertrophy in asymptomatic Alzheimer disease. Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology. 2008. doi:10.1097/nen.0b013e3181772794. PMID: 18520776.
BibTeX
@article{iacono2008-18520776,
author = {Iacono, D. and O'Brien, R. and Resnick, S. M. and Zonderman, A. B. and Pletnikova, O. and Rudow, G. and An, Y. and West, M. J. and others},
title = {{Neuronal hypertrophy in asymptomatic Alzheimer disease}},
journal = {Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology},
year = {2008},
doi = {10.1097/nen.0b013e3181772794},
pmid = {18520776},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/nen.0b013e3181772794}
}
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