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Proteome-based plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease
Hye A, Lynham S, Thambisetty M, Causevic M, Campbell J, Byers HL, Hooper C, Rijsdijk F et al.. Brain : a journal of neurology, 2006-11-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Alzheimer's disease is a common and devastating disease for which there is no readily available biomarker to aid diagnosis or to monitor disease progression. Biomarkers have been sought in CSF but no previous study has used two-dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry to seek biomarkers in peripheral tissue. We performed a case-control study of plasma using this proteomics approach to identify proteins that differ in the disease state relative to aged controls. For discovery-phase proteomics analysis, 50 people with Alzheimer's dementia were recruited through secondary services and 50 normal elderly controls through primary care. For validation purposes a total of 511 subjects with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases and normal elderly controls were examined. Image analysis of the protein distribution of the gels alone identifies disease cases with 56% sensitivity and 80% specificity. Mass spectrometric analysis of the changes observed in two-dimensional electrophoresis identified a number of proteins previously implicated in the disease pathology, including complement factor H (CFH) precursor and alpha-2-macroglobulin (alpha-2M). Using semi-quantitative immunoblotting, the elevation of CFH and alpha-2M was shown to be specific for Alzheimer's disease and to correlate with disease severity although alternative assays would be necessary to improve sensitivity and specificity. These findings suggest that blood may be a rich source for biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and that CFH, together with other proteins such as alpha-2M may be a specific markers of this illness.
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APA 7th
Hye, A., Lynham, S., Thambisetty, M., Causevic, M., Campbell, J., Byers, H. L., et al. (2006). Proteome-based plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease. Brain : a journal of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awl279
Vancouver
Hye A, Lynham S, Thambisetty M, Causevic M, Campbell J, Byers HL, et al. Proteome-based plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease. Brain : a journal of neurology. 2006. doi:10.1093/brain/awl279. PMID: 17071923.
BibTeX
@article{hye2006-17071923,
author = {Hye, A. and Lynham, S. and Thambisetty, M. and Causevic, M. and Campbell, J. and Byers, H. L. and Hooper, C. and Rijsdijk, F. and others},
title = {{Proteome-based plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Brain : a journal of neurology},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1093/brain/awl279},
pmid = {17071923},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awl279}
}
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Key findings
- These findings suggest that blood may be a rich source for biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and that CFH, together with other proteins such as alpha-2M may be a specific markers of this illness.
Why it matters
This case-control study found that certain plasma proteins, including complement factor H and alpha-2-macroglobulin, were elevated in people with Alzheimer's disease and correlated with disease severity. These findings suggest blood may be a source of biomarkers, but they do not provide a treatment, cure, or prevention.
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Study details
- Study designcase-control study
- Participants50
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 66/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a case-control study. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Brain : a journal of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Brain: journal h-index 503 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 6 / 12 | A case-control study |
| 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 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 50 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 464 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 21.1 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 15.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 22 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 28 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Simon Lovestone: h-index 118 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 17071923) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 66 / 100 | — |
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