Home › Research › Mild cognitive impairment
Synaptic change in the posterior cingulate gyrus in the progression of Alzheimer's disease
Scheff SW, Price DA, Ansari MA, Roberts KN, Schmitt FA, Ikonomovic MD, Mufson EJ.. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2015-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered to be an early stage in the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) providing an opportunity to investigate brain pathogenesis prior to the onset of dementia. Neuroimaging studies have identified the posterior cingulate gyrus (PostC) as a cortical region affected early in the onset of AD. This association cortex is involved in a variety of different cognitive tasks and is intimately connected with the hippocampal/entorhinal cortex region, a component of the medial temporal memory circuit that displays early AD pathology. We quantified the total number of synapses in lamina 3 of the PostC using unbiased stereology coupled with electron microscopy from short postmortem autopsy tissue harvested from cases at different stage of AD progression. Individuals in the early stages of AD showed a significant decline in synaptic numbers compared to individuals with no cognitive impairment (NCI). Subjects with MCI exhibited synaptic numbers that were between the AD and NCI cohorts. Adjacent tissue was evaluated for changes in both pre and postsynaptic proteins levels. Individuals with MCI demonstrated a significant loss in presynaptic markers synapsin-1 and synaptophysin and postsynaptic markers PSD-95 and SAP-97. Levels of [3H]PiB binding was significantly increased in MCI and AD and correlated strongly with levels of synaptic proteins. All synaptic markers showed a significant association with Mini-Mental Status Examination scores. These results support the idea that the PostC synaptic function is affected during the prodromal stage of the disease and may underlie some of the early clinical sequelae associated with AD.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Scheff, S. W., Price, D. A., Ansari, M. A., Roberts, K. N., Schmitt, F. A., Ikonomovic, M. D., et al. (2015). Synaptic change in the posterior cingulate gyrus in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-141518
Vancouver
Scheff SW, Price DA, Ansari MA, Roberts KN, Schmitt FA, Ikonomovic MD, et al. Synaptic change in the posterior cingulate gyrus in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2015. doi:10.3233/jad-141518. PMID: 25147118.
BibTeX
@article{scheff2015-25147118,
author = {Scheff, S. W. and Price, D. A. and Ansari, M. A. and Roberts, K. N. and Schmitt, F. A. and Ikonomovic, M. D. and Mufson, E. J.},
title = {{Synaptic change in the posterior cingulate gyrus in the progression of Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.3233/jad-141518},
pmid = {25147118},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-141518}
}
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 7 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
- Individuals in the early stages of AD showed a significant decline in synaptic numbers compared to individuals with no cognitive impairment (NCI).
- Individuals with MCI demonstrated a significant loss in presynaptic markers synapsin-1 and synaptophysin and postsynaptic markers PSD-95 and SAP-97.
- Levels of [3H]PiB binding was significantly increased in MCI and AD and correlated strongly with levels of synaptic proteins.
- All synaptic markers showed a significant association with Mini-Mental Status Examination scores.
- These results support the idea that the PostC synaptic function is affected during the prodromal stage of the disease and may underlie some of the early clinical sequelae associated with AD.
Why it matters
In postmortem brain tissue, people in early stages of Alzheimer's disease had significantly fewer synapses in the posterior cingulate gyrus than people with no cognitive impairment, and those with mild cognitive impairment had synapse numbers in between. This is a tissue study describing brain changes, not a test of any treatment, cure, or prevention.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
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 (Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Alzheimer s Disease: journal h-index 218 (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 | 2015 — within 20 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 164 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 12.6 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 7 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 44 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Elliott Jay Mufson: h-index 103 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Pittsburgh: institution h-index 1,470 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25147118) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 36.
Later studies that cite this one
7 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Mild cognitive impairment
Also tagged “classification”
835 studies in the library carry the topic tag “classification”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 835 tagged studies.