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Brain network connectivity differs in early-onset neurodegenerative dementia
Filippi M, Basaia S, Canu E, Imperiale F, Meani A, Caso F, Magnani G, Falautano M et al.. Neurology, 2017-09-27
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective To investigate functional brain network architecture in early-onset Alzheimer disease (EOAD) and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Methods Thirty-eight patients with bvFTD, 37 patients with EOAD, and 32 age-matched healthy controls underwent 3D T1-weighted and resting-state fMRI. Graph analysis and connectomics assessed global and local functional topologic network properties, regional functional connectivity, and intrahemispheric and interhemispheric between-lobe connectivity. Results Despite similarly extensive cognitive impairment relative to controls, patients with EOAD showed severe global functional network alterations (lower mean nodal strength, local efficiency, clustering coefficient, and longer path length), while patients with bvFTD showed relatively preserved global functional brain architecture. Patients with bvFTD demonstrated reduced nodal strength in the frontoinsular lobe and a relatively focal altered functional connectivity of frontoinsular and temporal regions. Functional connectivity breakdown in the posterior brain nodes, particularly in the parietal lobe, differentiated patients with EOAD from those with bvFTD. While EOAD was associated with widespread loss of both intrahemispheric and interhemispheric functional correlations, bvFTD showed a preferential disruption of the intrahemispheric connectivity. Conclusions Disease-specific patterns of functional network topology and connectivity alterations were observed in patients with EOAD and bvFTD. Graph analysis and connectomics may aid clinical diagnosis and help elucidate pathophysiologic differences between neurodegenerative dementias.
Key findings
- Results Despite similarly extensive cognitive impairment relative to controls, patients with EOAD showed severe global functional network alterations (lower mean nodal strength, local efficiency, clustering coefficient, and longer path length), while patients with bvFTD showed relatively preserved global functional brain architecture.
- Patients with bvFTD demonstrated reduced nodal strength in the frontoinsular lobe and a relatively focal altered functional connectivity of frontoinsular and temporal regions.
- While EOAD was associated with widespread loss of both intrahemispheric and interhemispheric functional correlations, bvFTD showed a preferential disruption of the intrahemispheric connectivity.
Why it matters
Patients with early-onset Alzheimer's disease showed widespread functional network disruption, while those with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia had relatively preserved global architecture with more focal changes. This helps distinguish the two dementias by brain connectivity patterns, but it does not address treatment, cure or prevention.
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Study details
- Participants37
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 52/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported 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 | 2 / 5 | 2017 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 37 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 123 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 11.2 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.8× 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 | 2 / 4 | Cited 33 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Federica Agosta: h-index 87 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Vita-Salute San Raffaele University: institution h-index 542 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre 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 28954876) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 52 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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. 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
Filippi, M., Basaia, S., Canu, E., Imperiale, F., Meani, A., Caso, F., et al. (2017). Brain network connectivity differs in early-onset neurodegenerative dementia. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000004577
Vancouver
Filippi M, Basaia S, Canu E, Imperiale F, Meani A, Caso F, et al. Brain network connectivity differs in early-onset neurodegenerative dementia. Neurology. 2017. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000004577. PMID: 28954876.
BibTeX
@article{filippi2017-28954876,
author = {Filippi, M. and Basaia, S. and Canu, E. and Imperiale, F. and Meani, A. and Caso, F. and Magnani, G. and Falautano, M. and others},
title = {{Brain network connectivity differs in early-onset neurodegenerative dementia}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000004577},
pmid = {28954876},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000004577}
}
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