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34/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 34 out of 100. Disease mechanisms

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Plain-language summary

Von Economo neurons (VENs) are unique spindle-shaped neurons that primarily reside in the anterior cingulate (ACC) and fronto-insular (FI) cortices. They are more numerous in species with affiliative behaviors and may support social-emotional functions. VENs are reduced in the ACC and FI of individuals with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), marked by personality changes and socially inappropriate behavior. Neuropathologies underlying bvFTD include frontotemporal lobar degenerations (FTLD) with tauopathy (FTLD-tau) or TDP-43 (FTLD-TDP). This study examined VEN density across three FTLD-tau subtypes: the 4R tauopathies of corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and the 3R tauopathy known as Pick's disease (PiD). Twenty-six right-handed bvFTD-FTLD-tau cases were identified from the Northwestern University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center brain bank (PiD n = 9; CBD n = 11; PSP n = 6). Paraffin sections were cresyl violet-stained to visualize VENs in the ACC and analyzed using unbiased stereology. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests showed significantly lower VEN density in PiD than CBD (P < 0.05). No significant differences were found between PiD and PSP or CBD and PSP. Across isoforms, VEN density was over fourfold higher in 4R than 3R cases (P < 0.01). Overall, stereology indicates VENs are more vulnerable to 3R PiD than 4R CBD, both causes of bvFTD. The clinical implications of this differential vulnerability warrant further study.

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APA 7th

Macomber, A., Zouridakis, A., Lubbat, V., Minogue, G., Kawles, A., Keszycki, R. M., et al. (2026). Vulnerability of anterior cingulate Von Economo neurons to FTLD-tauopathies in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. Cerebral Cortex. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhag011

Vancouver

Macomber A, Zouridakis A, Lubbat V, Minogue G, Kawles A, Keszycki RM, et al. Vulnerability of anterior cingulate Von Economo neurons to FTLD-tauopathies in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. Cerebral Cortex. 2026. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhag011. PMID: 41701639.

BibTeX

@article{macomber2026-41701639,
  author  = {Macomber, Alyssa and Zouridakis, Antonia and Lubbat, Vivienne and Minogue, Grace and Kawles, Allegra and Keszycki, Rachel M. and Nelson, Caroline and Gill, Nathan Pruneau and others},
  title   = {{Vulnerability of anterior cingulate Von Economo neurons to FTLD-tauopathies in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia}},
  journal = {Cerebral Cortex},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.1093/cercor/bhag011},
  pmid    = {41701639},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhag011}
}

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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.
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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.

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Key findings

Wilcoxon rank-sum tests showed significantly lower VEN density in PiD than CBD (P < 0.05).
No significant differences were found between PiD and PSP or CBD and PSP.
Overall, stereology indicates VENs are more vulnerable to 3R PiD than 4R CBD, both causes of bvFTD.

Why it matters

This brain-tissue study found that a type of neuron called Von Economo neurons was more vulnerable in Pick's disease than in corticobasal degeneration, with no significant difference between Pick's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy or between corticobasal degeneration and progressive supranuclear palsy. It concerns the brain changes behind behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, not Alzheimer's disease treatment, cure or prevention.

Study details

Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 34/100

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 (Cerebral Cortex)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	Cerebral Cortex: journal h-index 345 (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	5 / 5	2026 — within 1 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)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	0 / 7	Cited 0 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	0 / 5	0.0 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026
Impact for its field and year	0 / 6	Cited 0.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	0 / 6	No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited	0 / 4	Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	2 / 4	Last-listed author Tamar D. Gefen: h-index 25 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Northwestern University: institution h-index 1,592 (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 41701639)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	34 / 100	—

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