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Accuracy of clinical diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease: a clinico-pathological study of 100 cases.
Andrew Jerome Hughes, S. E. Daniel, Linda Kilford, Andrew John Lees. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1992-03-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Few detailed clinico-pathological correlations of Parkinson's disease have been published. The pathological findings in 100 patients diagnosed prospectively by a group of consultant neurologists as having idiopathic Parkinson's disease are reported. Seventy six had nigral Lewy bodies, and in all of these Lewy bodies were also found in the cerebral cortex. In 24 cases without Lewy bodies, diagnoses included progressive supranuclear palsy, multiple system atrophy, Alzheimer's disease, Alzheimer-type pathology, and basal ganglia vascular disease. The retrospective application of recommended diagnostic criteria improved the diagnostic accuracy to 82%. These observations call into question current concepts of Parkinson's disease as a single distinct morbid entity.
Why it matters
Brain examination after death of 100 people diagnosed in life with Parkinson's disease found no Lewy bodies in 24, whose diagnoses included progressive supranuclear palsy, Alzheimer's disease and vascular disease. Applying recommended diagnostic criteria in hindsight improved diagnostic accuracy to 82%.
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How this study scored 55/100
Published in a peer-reviewed 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 strength of evidence, so that was left out: it earned 52 of the 95 points we could judge it on, which is 55 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry: journal h-index 336 (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 | — / 5 | No evidence rating recorded — left out of this score |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1992 — 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 / 7 | Cited 10,403 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 289.0 citations a year over 36 year(s) since 1992 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 32.2× 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 | 4 / 4 | Cited 970 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Andrew John Lees: h-index 166 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology: institution h-index 875 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 1564476) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 52 / 95 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 52 of the 95 points we could judge it on is 55 out of 100. |
| Total | 55 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.55.3.181
- PubMed: 1564476
- Original source →
- Free full text: Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Hughes, A. J., Daniel, S. E., Kilford, L., & Lees, A. J. (1992). Accuracy of clinical diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease: a clinico-pathological study of 100 cases. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.55.3.181
Vancouver
Hughes AJ, Daniel SE, Kilford L, Lees AJ. Accuracy of clinical diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease: a clinico-pathological study of 100 cases. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 1992. doi:10.1136/jnnp.55.3.181. PMID: 1564476.
BibTeX
@article{hughes1992-1564476,
author = {Hughes, Andrew Jerome and Daniel, S. E. and Kilford, Linda and Lees, Andrew John},
title = {{Accuracy of clinical diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease: a clinico-pathological study of 100 cases}},
journal = {Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery \& Psychiatry},
year = {1992},
doi = {10.1136/jnnp.55.3.181},
pmid = {1564476},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.55.3.181}
}
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