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Can MRI screen for CSF biomarkers in neurodegenerative disease?
McMillan CT, Avants B, Irwin DJ, Toledo JB, Wolk DA, Van Deerlin VM, Shaw LM, Trojanoswki JQ et al.. Neurology, 2012-12-26
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective Alzheimer disease (AD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) may have overlapping clinical presentations despite distinct underlying neuropathologies, thus making in vivo diagnosis challenging. In this study, we evaluate the utility of MRI as a noninvasive screening procedure for the differential diagnosis of AD and FTLD. Methods We recruited 185 patients with a clinically diagnosed neurodegenerative disease consistent with AD or FTLD who had a lumbar puncture and a volumetric MRI.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
McMillan, C. T., Avants, B., Irwin, D. J., Toledo, J. B., Wolk, D. A., Van Deerlin, V. M., et al. (2013). Can MRI screen for CSF biomarkers in neurodegenerative disease? Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e31827b9147
Vancouver
McMillan CT, Avants B, Irwin DJ, Toledo JB, Wolk DA, Van Deerlin VM, et al. Can MRI screen for CSF biomarkers in neurodegenerative disease? Neurology. 2013. doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e31827b9147. PMID: 23269595.
BibTeX
@article{mcmillan2013-23269595,
author = {McMillan, C. T. and Avants, B. and Irwin, D. J. and Toledo, J. B. and Wolk, D. A. and Van Deerlin, V. M. and Shaw, L. M. and Trojanoswki, J. Q. and others},
title = {{Can MRI screen for CSF biomarkers in neurodegenerative disease?}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0b013e31827b9147},
pmid = {23269595},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e31827b9147}
}
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Key findings
- In this study, we evaluate the utility of MRI as a noninvasive screening procedure for the differential diagnosis of AD and FTLD.
- Methods We recruited 185 patients with a clinically diagnosed neurodegenerative disease consistent with AD or FTLD who had a lumbar puncture and a volumetric MRI.
- A subset of 32 patients had genetic or autopsy-confirmed AD or FTLD.
- We used singular value decomposition to decompose MRI volumes and linear regression and cross-validation to predict CSF total tau (tt) and β-amyloid (Aβ(1-42)) ratio (tt/Aβ) in patients with AD and patients with FTLD.
Why it matters
This study tested whether MRI volumes could predict cerebrospinal fluid total tau and other biomarkers to help tell Alzheimer's disease from frontotemporal lobar degeneration without a lumbar puncture. It is a diagnostic screening study, so it does not show a treatment, cure or prevention.
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Study details
- Participants185
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / 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 | 2013 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 185 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 24 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.6 citations a year over 15 year(s) since 2013 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 2.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Murray Grossman: h-index 119 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Pennsylvania: institution h-index 1,859 (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 23269595) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
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