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47/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 47 out of 100. Risk genes beyond APOE

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Plain-language summary

Western blots of normal human platelets, employing a monoclonal antibody raised against the full-length amyloid precursor protein of Alzheimer's disease (APP695), revealed major bands of 100-110 and 120-130 kDa in both cytosolic, membrane, and released fractions. These species were similar in size to forms seen in brain preparations and in plasma. There was no difference in Western blots of platelet preparations from Alzheimer patients compared with controls.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Low

Human platelets were found to release amyloid precursor protein, and Western blots showed no difference between Alzheimer patients and controls. This laboratory finding does not provide a treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.

Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Bush, A. I., Martins, R. N., Rumble, B., Moir, R., Fuller, S., Milward, E., et al. (1990). The amyloid precursor protein of Alzheimer's disease is released by human platelets. The Journal of biological chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0021-9258(18)55493-4

Vancouver

Bush AI, Martins RN, Rumble B, Moir R, Fuller S, Milward E, et al. The amyloid precursor protein of Alzheimer's disease is released by human platelets. The Journal of biological chemistry. 1990. doi:10.1016/s0021-9258(18)55493-4. PMID: 2118534.

BibTeX

@article{bush1990-2118534,
  author  = {Bush, A. I. and Martins, R. N. and Rumble, B. and Moir, R. and Fuller, S. and Milward, E. and Currie, J. and Ames, D. and others},
  title   = {{The amyloid precursor protein of Alzheimer's disease is released by human platelets}},
  journal = {The Journal of biological chemistry},
  year    = {1990},
  doi     = {10.1016/s0021-9258(18)55493-4},
  pmid    = {2118534},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s0021-9258(18)55493-4}
}

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's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

How to read this study

Design: our record does not state a study design, so check the methods section of the original before weighing the result.
Size: the record gives no participant count. Look for one in the original before trusting a pattern.
Effect: the record gives no effect size, so the summary above cannot say how large any difference was.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded low. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Low means the abstract matched neither pattern. It is the default label, and it does not mean the work is poor; many sound lab and imaging papers land here. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

New to reading papers? Six questions to ask of any Alzheimer’s study · how we score.

Key findings

These species were similar in size to forms seen in brain preparations and in plasma.
There was no difference in Western blots of platelet preparations from Alzheimer patients compared with controls.
Purified platelet amyloid precursor proteins were sequenced and shown to be amino terminally homogeneous.
Immunohistochemistry localized the antigen to the platelet and megakaryocyte and demonstrated weak immunostaining of some lymphocytes.

Why it matters

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Study details

Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 47/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Journal of biological chemistry)
Journal's citation record	4 / 4	Journal of Biological Chemistry: journal h-index 780 (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	1990 — 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)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	6 / 7	Cited 327 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	8.6 citations a year over 38 year(s) since 1990
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 13.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	3 / 6	Cited by 12 other studies in this library
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 9 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	2 / 4	Last-listed author Peter Q. Fischer: h-index 24 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Heidelberg University: institution h-index 1,344 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 2118534)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	47 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

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