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Phospholipid composition and levels are altered in Down syndrome brain
Murphy EJ, Schapiro MB, Rapoport SI, Shetty HU.. Brain research, 2000-06-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Phospholipid composition (mol %) and levels (nmol/mg protein) were determined in postmortem frontal cortical and cerebellar gray matter from older Down Syndrome (DS) patients (age range 38-68 years) and from control subjects. Neither DS nor control tissue exhibited any age-dependent alteration in phospholipid composition or levels. Total phospholipid content was significantly reduced approximately 20% in DS frontal cortex and cerebellum relative to these regions in control tissue. Individual phospholipid levels were also reduced in DS frontal cortex and cerebellum, including a specific 37% decrease in phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) and a nearly 35% decrease in ethanolamine plasmalogen. Because of the large decrease in phospholipid content in DS brain, the cholesterol/phospholipid ratio was calculated for each group. There was no significant difference in this ratio between groups, indicative of compensatory changes to keep the cholesterol/phospholipid ratio constant. Despite the large changes in DS brain phospholipid levels, significant changes in composition were limited to a 18% decrease in PtdIns mol % and a 22% increase in the mol % of sphingomyelin. These results suggest either a decrease in membrane phospholipids due to a loss of dendrites and dendritic spines, or a general defect in brain lipid metabolism in older DS subjects. The proportionally greater alterations in PtdIns and PlsEtn levels, indicate that the metabolism of these two phospholipids was affected to a greater extent than the other phospholipids. Further, because these changes are found in both the frontal cortical and cerebellar gray matter, they likely are related to the Down syndrome condition rather than to Alzheimer neuropathology.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Murphy, E. J., Schapiro, M. B., Rapoport, S. I., & Shetty, H. U. (2000). Phospholipid composition and levels are altered in Down syndrome brain. Brain research. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0006-8993(00)02205-8
Vancouver
Murphy EJ, Schapiro MB, Rapoport SI, Shetty HU. Phospholipid composition and levels are altered in Down syndrome brain. Brain research. 2000. doi:10.1016/s0006-8993(00)02205-8. PMID: 10837793.
BibTeX
@article{murphy2000-10837793,
author = {Murphy, E. J. and Schapiro, M. B. and Rapoport, S. I. and Shetty, H. U.},
title = {{Phospholipid composition and levels are altered in Down syndrome brain}},
journal = {Brain research},
year = {2000},
doi = {10.1016/s0006-8993(00)02205-8},
pmid = {10837793},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s0006-8993(00)02205-8}
}
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Key findings
- Total phospholipid content was significantly reduced approximately 20% in DS frontal cortex and cerebellum relative to these regions in control tissue.
- There was no significant difference in this ratio between groups, indicative of compensatory changes to keep the cholesterol/phospholipid ratio constant.
- Despite the large changes in DS brain phospholipid levels, significant changes in composition were limited to a 18% decrease in PtdIns mol % and a 22% increase in the mol % of sphingomyelin.
- These results suggest either a decrease in membrane phospholipids due to a loss of dendrites and dendritic spines, or a general defect in brain lipid metabolism in older DS subjects.
- The proportionally greater alterations in PtdIns and PlsEtn levels, indicate that the metabolism of these two phospholipids was affected to a greater extent than the other phospholipids.
Why it matters
In postmortem frontal cortex and cerebellum from older people with Down syndrome, total phospholipid content was about 20% lower than in control tissue, with a 37% decrease in phosphatidylinositol and a nearly 35% decrease in ethanolamine plasmalogen. The authors suggest this could reflect loss of dendrites and dendritic spines or a general defect in brain lipid metabolism.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 42/100
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 senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 40 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 42 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Brain research) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Brain Research: journal h-index 399 (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 | 2000 — 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 114 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 4.1 citations a year over 28 year(s) since 2000 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 2.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 6 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | National Institutes of Health: institution h-index 2,723 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 10837793) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 40 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 40 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 42 out of 100. |
| Total | 42 / 100 | — |
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