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Serum neurotrophins--a study on the time course and influencing factors in a large old age sample
Ziegenhorn AA, Schulte-Herbrüggen O, Danker-Hopfe H, Malbranc M, Hartung HD, Anders D, Lang UE, Steinhagen-Thiessen E et al.. Neurobiology of aging, 2006-08-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
The neurotrophins nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are important mediators of brain and neuronal development, the maintenance of homeostatic conditions in the adult nervous system, and the complex interplay of central and peripheral physiological and pathophysiological factors. To date there are few studies examining blood concentrations of neurotrophic factors in large samples of healthy and diseased individuals and no published study specifically addresses peripheral BDNF and NGF levels in late life. Using improved highly sensitive and specific fluorometric two-site enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays we examined BDNF (n=465) and NGF (n=175) serum levels in a large cohort of elderly individuals (age range: 70-103 years).
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APA 7th
Ziegenhorn, A. A., Schulte-Herbrüggen, O., Danker-Hopfe, H., Malbranc, M., Hartung, H. D., Anders, D., et al. (2007). Serum neurotrophins--a study on the time course and influencing factors in a large old age sample. Neurobiology of aging. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2006.06.011
Vancouver
Ziegenhorn AA, Schulte-Herbrüggen O, Danker-Hopfe H, Malbranc M, Hartung HD, Anders D, et al. Serum neurotrophins--a study on the time course and influencing factors in a large old age sample. Neurobiology of aging. 2007. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2006.06.011. PMID: 16879899.
BibTeX
@article{ziegenhorn2007-16879899,
author = {Ziegenhorn, A. A. and Schulte-Herbrüggen, O. and Danker-Hopfe, H. and Malbranc, M. and Hartung, H. D. and Anders, D. and Lang, U. E. and Steinhagen-Thiessen, E. and others},
title = {{Serum neurotrophins--a study on the time course and influencing factors in a large old age sample}},
journal = {Neurobiology of aging},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2006.06.011},
pmid = {16879899},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2006.06.011}
}
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Key findings
- To date there are few studies examining blood concentrations of neurotrophic factors in large samples of healthy and diseased individuals and no published study specifically addresses peripheral BDNF and NGF levels in late life.
- Using improved highly sensitive and specific fluorometric two-site enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays we examined BDNF (n=465) and NGF (n=175) serum levels in a large cohort of elderly individuals (age range: 70-103 years).
- Neither BDNF nor NGF serum levels proved to be normally distributed, indicating that previously published studies with small sample sizes using parametric testing may be misleading.
- A significant correlation was found between BDNF and platelet count (r=0.344, p<0.01), age and BDNF protein (r=-0.101, p=0.029) and BDNF and NGF serum levels (r=0.152, p=0.04).
Why it matters
In this large sample of elderly people, neither BDNF nor NGF serum levels proved to be related to the factors examined. It reports no treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Participants465
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 49/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neurobiology of aging) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Neurobiology of Aging: journal h-index 263 (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 | 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 | 2007 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 465 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 279 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 13.3 citations a year over 21 year(s) since 2007 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 21 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Rainer Hellweg: h-index 56 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin: institution h-index 1,116 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16879899) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 49 / 100 | — |
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