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48/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 48 out of 100. Inflammation and the immune system

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Plain-language summary

Age is characterized by chronic inflammation, leading to synaptic dysfunction and dementia because the clearance of protein waste is reduced. The clearance of proteins depends partly on the permeation of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) or on the exchange of water and soluble contents between the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the interstitial fluid (ISF). A wealth of evidence indicates that physical exercise improves memory and cognition in neurodegenerative diseases during aging, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the influence of physical training on glymphatic clearance, BBB permeability and neuroinflammation remains unclear.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Low

In aged mice, voluntary exercise was reported to promote glymphatic clearance of amyloid beta and reduce activation of astrocytes and microglia. This is animal research and does not establish that exercise treats or prevents Alzheimer's disease in people.

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

He, X. F., Liu, D. X., Zhang, Q., Liang, F. Y., Dai, G. Y., Zeng, J. S., et al. (2017). Voluntary Exercise Promotes Glymphatic Clearance of Amyloid Beta and Reduces the Activation of Astrocytes and Microglia in Aged Mice. Frontiers in molecular neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2017.00144

Vancouver

He XF, Liu DX, Zhang Q, Liang FY, Dai GY, Zeng JS, et al. Voluntary Exercise Promotes Glymphatic Clearance of Amyloid Beta and Reduces the Activation of Astrocytes and Microglia in Aged Mice. Frontiers in molecular neuroscience. 2017. doi:10.3389/fnmol.2017.00144. PMID: 28579942.

BibTeX

@article{he2017-28579942,
  author  = {He, X. F. and Liu, D. X. and Zhang, Q. and Liang, F. Y. and Dai, G. Y. and Zeng, J. S. and Pei, Z. and Xu, G. Q. and others},
  title   = {{Voluntary Exercise Promotes Glymphatic Clearance of Amyloid Beta and Reduces the Activation of Astrocytes and Microglia in Aged Mice}},
  journal = {Frontiers in molecular neuroscience},
  year    = {2017},
  doi     = {10.3389/fnmol.2017.00144},
  pmid    = {28579942},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2017.00144}
}

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

The clearance of proteins depends partly on the permeation of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) or on the exchange of water and soluble contents between the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the interstitial fluid (ISF).
A wealth of evidence indicates that physical exercise improves memory and cognition in neurodegenerative diseases during aging, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the influence of physical training on glymphatic clearance, BBB permeability and neuroinflammation remains unclear.
In this study, glymphatic clearance and BBB permeability were evaluated in aged mice using in vivo two-photon imaging.
The mice performed voluntary wheel running exercise and their water-maze cognition was assessed; the expression of the astrocytic water channel aquaporin 4 (AQP4), astrocyte and microglial activation, and the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) were evaluated with immunofluorescence or an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); synaptic function was investigated with Thy1 -green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic mice and immunofluorescent staining.

Why it matters

Study details

Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 48/100

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

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in molecular neuroscience)
Journal's citation record	1 / 4	Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience: journal h-index 143 (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	2 / 5	2017 — within 10 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	Laboratory or animal study (title names “mice”) — scores zero
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	6 / 7	Cited 366 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	4 / 5	33.3 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 9.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 5 other studies in this library
Still being cited	3 / 4	Cited 158 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	1 / 4	Last-listed author Yue Lan: h-index 13 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Sun Yat-sen University: institution h-index 851 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28579942)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	48 / 100	—

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

Read the original

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