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Neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease: what is new since A. Alzheimer?
Braak E, Griffing K, Arai K, Bohl J, Bratzke H, Braak H.. European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience, 1999-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Alzheimer's disease results from severe cytoskeletal alterations in only a few neuronal types within the human central nervous system. These intraneuronal changes take the form of neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil threads. Beginning in predisposed induction sites in the allocortex, the lesions follow a predictable sequence as they engulf other territories of the cerebral cortex and a specific set of subcortical nuclei.
Key findings
- These intraneuronal changes take the form of neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil threads.
- Beginning in predisposed induction sites in the allocortex, the lesions follow a predictable sequence as they engulf other territories of the cerebral cortex and a specific set of subcortical nuclei.
- Some components of the brain are devastated, while others remain intact until the end phase of the disease.
- Assessment of the location of the afflicted neurons and the severity of the lesions allows the distinction of stages in the development of the disease.
Why it matters
This review describes how neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil threads spread in a predictable sequence through the brain in Alzheimer's disease. It is a descriptive pathology paper and does not report any treatment, cure or prevention.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 46/100
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 (European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience: journal h-index 158 (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 | 1999 — 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 374 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 12.9 citations a year over 29 year(s) since 1999 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 25 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 18 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Heiko Braak: h-index 121 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Goethe University Frankfurt: institution h-index 958 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 10654095) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 46 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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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
Braak, E., Griffing, K., Arai, K., Bohl, J., Bratzke, H., & Braak, H. (1999). Neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease: what is new since A. Alzheimer? European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1007/pl00014168
Vancouver
Braak E, Griffing K, Arai K, Bohl J, Bratzke H, Braak H. Neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease: what is new since A. Alzheimer? European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience. 1999. doi:10.1007/pl00014168. PMID: 10654095.
BibTeX
@article{braak1999-10654095,
author = {Braak, E. and Griffing, K. and Arai, K. and Bohl, J. and Bratzke, H. and Braak, H.},
title = {{Neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease: what is new since A. Alzheimer?}},
journal = {European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience},
year = {1999},
doi = {10.1007/pl00014168},
pmid = {10654095},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/pl00014168}
}
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Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
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