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Tau accumulation in astrocytes in progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative rather than a reactive process
Togo T, Dickson DW.. Acta neuropathologica, 2002-05-30
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Tau-immunoreactive astrocytes in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) have a distinctive morphology and are referred to as tufted astrocytes (TA). We hypothesized that TA may be a degenerative change in reactive astrocytes. To test this hypothesis we examined the relationship of TA to gliosis in PSP. We first examined the distribution of gliosis [glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP)-positive astrocytes], TA, neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) and pretangles in brain sections of neuropathologically pure PSP cases. Second, we examined PSP cases complicated by infarcts or Alzheimer's disease, since these cases would have reactive astrocytes associated with lesions. We used double immunostaining for GFAP and tau for cases with vascular lesions, and triple immunostaining for GFAP, tau and beta-amyloid protein for sections with senile plaques. There was no correlation between the distribution of gliosis and TA, with gliosis prominent in globus pallidus and subthalamic nucleus, and TA prominent in motor cortex and striatum. On the other hand, gliosis paralleled the distribution of NFT, but not the distribution of pretangles, suggesting that NFT contributes to gliosis in PSP. Although reactive astrocytes were present around infarcts and senile plaques, TA were not associated with these lesions. Tau accumulation in astrocytes in PSP was not preferential to (and was actually independent of) reactive astrocytes. This is consistent with the notion that tau accumulation in astrocytes is a degenerative rather than reactive process. Unlike NFT, astrocytic degeneration does not seem to contribute to gliosis or neuronal loss in PSP, and its clinical significance remains unclear.
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APA 7th
Togo, T., & Dickson, D. W. (2002). Tau accumulation in astrocytes in progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative rather than a reactive process. Acta neuropathologica. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-002-0569-x
Vancouver
Togo T, Dickson DW. Tau accumulation in astrocytes in progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative rather than a reactive process. Acta neuropathologica. 2002. doi:10.1007/s00401-002-0569-x. PMID: 12200627.
BibTeX
@article{togo2002-12200627,
author = {Togo, T. and Dickson, D. W.},
title = {{Tau accumulation in astrocytes in progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative rather than a reactive process}},
journal = {Acta neuropathologica},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.1007/s00401-002-0569-x},
pmid = {12200627},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-002-0569-x}
}
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Key findings
- Second, we examined PSP cases complicated by infarcts or Alzheimer's disease, since these cases would have reactive astrocytes associated with lesions.
- On the other hand, gliosis paralleled the distribution of NFT, but not the distribution of pretangles, suggesting that NFT contributes to gliosis in PSP.
- Although reactive astrocytes were present around infarcts and senile plaques, TA were not associated with these lesions.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a leading specialty 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 journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 40 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Acta neuropathologica) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| 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 | 2002 — 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 | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 12200627) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 23 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 40 out of 100. |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
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