Home › Research › Brain scans and imaging
Accelerated cortical atrophy in cognitively normal elderly with high β-amyloid deposition
Chételat G, Villemagne VL, Villain N, Jones G, Ellis KA, Ames D, Martins RN, Masters CL et al.. Neurology, 2012-02-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective Given the recent and growing interest in the concepts of prodromal and presymptomatic Alzheimer disease, it is crucial to determine whether the presence of β-amyloid (Aβ) in the brain of asymptomatic elderly individuals is a pathologic condition associated with accelerated neuronal and synaptic loss. The aim of the present study was to assess whether Aβ influences the rate of atrophy in cognitively normal elderly individuals. Methods Seventy-four healthy elderly individuals underwent an MRI scan and a 11C-Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) PET scan at baseline and a second MRI scan 18 months later. Voxel-wise analyses were performed using maps of annual rate of atrophy generated from the serial MRI scans, including comparison between individuals with high vs low neocortical PiB and correlation with baseline neocortical PiB. Results The rate of atrophy was significantly higher in the normal elderly individuals with high PiB compared with those with low PiB and was significantly correlated with baseline neocortical PiB, with the highest significance in the temporal neocortex and the posterior cingulate cortex. Conclusions Our findings show that the presence of Aβ in the brain, known to occur in about one-third of asymptomatic elderly individuals, is actually a pathologic state associated with accelerated atrophy. They also suggest that therapy aimed to reduce the neurodegenerative process should be commenced in presymptomatic individuals with high PiB.
Key findings
- Objective Given the recent and growing interest in the concepts of prodromal and presymptomatic Alzheimer disease, it is crucial to determine whether the presence of β-amyloid (Aβ) in the brain of asymptomatic elderly individuals is a pathologic condition associated with accelerated neuronal and synaptic loss.
- Results The rate of atrophy was significantly higher in the normal elderly individuals with high PiB compared with those with low PiB and was significantly correlated with baseline neocortical PiB, with the highest significance in the temporal neocortex and the posterior cingulate cortex.
- Conclusions Our findings show that the presence of Aβ in the brain, known to occur in about one-third of asymptomatic elderly individuals, is actually a pathologic state associated with accelerated atrophy.
- They also suggest that therapy aimed to reduce the neurodegenerative process should be commenced in presymptomatic individuals with high PiB.
Why it matters
Cognitively normal older adults with high amyloid on PET had faster brain shrinkage over 18 months than those with low amyloid. This supports the idea that amyloid in asymptomatic people is a pathologic state, but it does not show that removing amyloid helps.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Brain scans & tests →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 48/100
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.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (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 | 2012 — 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 173 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.8 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 16.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 13 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 13 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Chris C. Rowe: h-index 12 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Inserm: institution h-index 1,988 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22302548) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 48 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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.
APA 7th
Chételat, G., Villemagne, V. L., Villain, N., Jones, G., Ellis, K. A., Ames, D., et al. (2012). Accelerated cortical atrophy in cognitively normal elderly with high β-amyloid deposition. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e318246d67a
Vancouver
Chételat G, Villemagne VL, Villain N, Jones G, Ellis KA, Ames D, et al. Accelerated cortical atrophy in cognitively normal elderly with high β-amyloid deposition. Neurology. 2012. doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e318246d67a. PMID: 22302548.
BibTeX
@article{chetelat2012-22302548,
author = {Chételat, G. and Villemagne, V. L. and Villain, N. and Jones, G. and Ellis, K. A. and Ames, D. and Martins, R. N. and Masters, C. L. and others},
title = {{Accelerated cortical atrophy in cognitively normal elderly with high β-amyloid deposition}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0b013e318246d67a},
pmid = {22302548},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e318246d67a}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 16.
Later studies that cite this one
13 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.