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Pathology of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Dugger BN, Dickson DW.. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology, 2017-07-05
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by progressive loss of selectively vulnerable populations of neurons, which contrasts with select static neuronal loss because of metabolic or toxic disorders. Neurodegenerative diseases can be classified according to primary clinical features (e.g., dementia, parkinsonism, or motor neuron disease), anatomic distribution of neurodegeneration (e.g., frontotemporal degenerations, extrapyramidal disorders, or spinocerebellar degenerations), or principal molecular abnormality. The most common neurodegenerative disorders are amyloidoses, tauopathies, α-synucleinopathies, and TDP-43 proteinopathies. The protein abnormalities in these disorders have abnormal conformational properties. Growing experimental evidence suggests that abnormal protein conformers may spread from cell to cell along anatomically connected pathways, which may in part explain the specific anatomical patterns observed at autopsy. In this review, we detail the human pathology of select neurodegenerative disorders, focusing on their main protein aggregates.
Key findings
- Growing experimental evidence suggests that abnormal protein conformers may spread from cell to cell along anatomically connected pathways, which may in part explain the specific anatomical patterns observed at autopsy.
Why it matters
This review describes how abnormal protein conformers in neurodegenerative disorders may spread from cell to cell along anatomically connected pathways. It is a summary of human pathology and experimental evidence, not a study of any treatment, cure or prevention.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 54/100
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 impact for its field and year, so that was left out: it earned 51 of the 94 points we could judge it on, which is 54 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology: journal h-index 301 (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 | 2017 — 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 | 7 / 7 | Cited 1,643 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 149.4 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 11 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 718 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Dennis W. Dickson: h-index 218 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, San Francisco: institution h-index 1,915 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28062563) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 51 / 94 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 51 of the 94 points we could judge it on is 54 out of 100. |
| Total | 54 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a028035
- PubMed: 28062563
- Original source →
- Free full text: Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology →
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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Dugger, B. N., & Dickson, D. W. (2017). Pathology of Neurodegenerative Diseases. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a028035
Vancouver
Dugger BN, Dickson DW. Pathology of Neurodegenerative Diseases. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology. 2017. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a028035. PMID: 28062563.
BibTeX
@article{dugger2017-28062563,
author = {Dugger, B. N. and Dickson, D. W.},
title = {{Pathology of Neurodegenerative Diseases}},
journal = {Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1101/cshperspect.a028035},
pmid = {28062563},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a028035}
}
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