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Polyamines in frontal cortex of patients with Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease
Seidl R, Beninati S, Cairns N, Singewald N, Risser D, Bavan H, Nemethova M, Lubec G.. Neuroscience letters, 1996-03-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Polyamines may play an important role in brain development, mature brain function and also in neurodegenerative conditions. We investigated polyamine levels in frontal cortex of human post-mortem brain samples of elderly patients with Down syndrome (DS), Alzheimer disease (AD) and normal controls by means of chromatographic separation after dansylation. Spermidine and spermine concentrations were markedly decreased in DS and AD. Polyamine levels were neither related to age and post-mortem interval nor to choline acetyltransferase activity, as indicator of neuronal loss. Our results support the idea that besides other neurotransmitter systems, endogenous polyamine levels are altered in dementing illnesses such as Alzheimer disease and Down syndrome.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Seidl, R., Beninati, S., Cairns, N., Singewald, N., Risser, D., Bavan, H., et al. (1996). Polyamines in frontal cortex of patients with Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease. Neuroscience letters. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-3940(96)12451-4
Vancouver
Seidl R, Beninati S, Cairns N, Singewald N, Risser D, Bavan H, et al. Polyamines in frontal cortex of patients with Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease. Neuroscience letters. 1996. doi:10.1016/s0304-3940(96)12451-4. PMID: 8710184.
BibTeX
@article{seidl1996-8710184,
author = {Seidl, R. and Beninati, S. and Cairns, N. and Singewald, N. and Risser, D. and Bavan, H. and Nemethova, M. and Lubec, G.},
title = {{Polyamines in frontal cortex of patients with Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease}},
journal = {Neuroscience letters},
year = {1996},
doi = {10.1016/s0304-3940(96)12451-4},
pmid = {8710184},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-3940(96)12451-4}
}
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 8 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.
Key findings
- Our results support the idea that besides other neurotransmitter systems, endogenous polyamine levels are altered in dementing illnesses such as Alzheimer disease and Down syndrome.
Why it matters
Levels of the polyamines spermidine and spermine were markedly decreased in the frontal cortex of people who had died with Alzheimer's disease or Down syndrome compared with normal controls. The authors say this supports the idea that polyamine levels are altered in dementing illnesses, but the study does not show whether this change causes dementia or can be treated.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 37/100
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 (Neuroscience letters) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Neuroscience Letters: journal h-index 267 (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 | 1996 — 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 | 4 / 7 | Cited 46 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.4 citations a year over 32 year(s) since 1996 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 7 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Gert Lübec: h-index 70 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Sapienza University of Rome: institution h-index 1,145 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 8710184) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 37 / 100 | — |
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