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Cerebral metabolic changes accompanying conversion of mild cognitive impairment into Alzheimer's disease: a PET follow-up study
Drzezga A, Lautenschlager N, Siebner H, Riemenschneider M, Willoch F, Minoshima S, Schwaiger M, Kurz A.. European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, 2003-05-23
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
A high percentage of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) develop clinical dementia of the Alzheimer type (AD) within 1 year. The aim of this longitudinal study was to identify characteristic patterns of cerebral metabolism at baseline in patients converting from MCI to AD, and to evaluate the changes in these patterns over time. Baseline and follow-up examinations after 1 year were performed in 22 MCI patients (12 males, 10 females, aged 69.8+/-5.8 years); these examinations included neuropsychological testing, structural cranial magnetic resonance imaging and fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) evaluation of relative cerebral glucose metabolic rate (rCMRglc). Individual PET scans were stereotactically normalised with NEUROSTAT software (Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA). Subsequently, statistical comparison of PET data with an age-matched healthy control population and between patient subgroups was performed using SPM 99 (Wellcome Dept. of Neuroimaging Sciences, London, UK). After 1 year, eight patients (36%) had developed probable AD (referred to as MCI(AD)), whereas 12 (55%) were still classified as having stable MCI (referred to as MCI(MCI)). Compared with the healthy control group, a reduced rCMRglc in AD-typical regions, including the temporoparietal and posterior cingulate cortex, was detected at baseline in patients with MCI(AD). Abnormalities in the posterior cingulate cortex reached significance even in comparison with the MCI(MCI) group. After 1 year, MCI(AD) patients demonstrated an additional bilateral reduction of rCMRglc in prefrontal areas, along with a further progression of the abnormalities in the parietal and posterior cingulate cortex. No such changes were observed in the MCI(MCI) group. In patients with MCI, characteristic cerebral metabolic differences can be delineated at the time of initial presentation, which helps to define prognostic subgroups. A newly emerging reduction of rCMRglc in prefrontal cortical areas is associated with the transition from MCI to AD.
Key findings
- Compared with the healthy control group, a reduced rCMRglc in AD-typical regions, including the temporoparietal and posterior cingulate cortex, was detected at baseline in patients with MCI(AD).
- After 1 year, MCI(AD) patients demonstrated an additional bilateral reduction of rCMRglc in prefrontal areas, along with a further progression of the abnormalities in the parietal and posterior cingulate cortex.
- A newly emerging reduction of rCMRglc in prefrontal cortical areas is associated with the transition from MCI to AD.
Why it matters
In this one-year PET study of 22 people with mild cognitive impairment, the 8 who developed probable Alzheimer's already showed lower brain glucose use in temporoparietal and posterior cingulate regions at baseline; the posterior cingulate difference was significant even against those who stayed stable. Over the year, converters also developed a new drop in prefrontal areas that was not seen in the stable group. This is a small group-level association, not a test that predicts an individual's outcome and not a treatment.
Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 63/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging: journal h-index 224 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2003 — 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 | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 606 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 24.2 citations a year over 25 year(s) since 2003 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 11.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 50 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 20 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Nicola T. Lautenschlager: h-index 67 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | University of Washington: institution h-index 3,540 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 12764551) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 63 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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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 names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Drzezga, A., Lautenschlager, N., Siebner, H., Riemenschneider, M., Willoch, F., Minoshima, S., et al. (2003). Cerebral metabolic changes accompanying conversion of mild cognitive impairment into Alzheimer's disease: a PET follow-up study. European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-003-1194-1
Vancouver
Drzezga A, Lautenschlager N, Siebner H, Riemenschneider M, Willoch F, Minoshima S, et al. Cerebral metabolic changes accompanying conversion of mild cognitive impairment into Alzheimer's disease: a PET follow-up study. European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. 2003. doi:10.1007/s00259-003-1194-1. PMID: 12764551.
BibTeX
@article{drzezga2003-12764551,
author = {Drzezga, A. and Lautenschlager, N. and Siebner, H. and Riemenschneider, M. and Willoch, F. and Minoshima, S. and Schwaiger, M. and Kurz, A.},
title = {{Cerebral metabolic changes accompanying conversion of mild cognitive impairment into Alzheimer's disease: a PET follow-up study}},
journal = {European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging},
year = {2003},
doi = {10.1007/s00259-003-1194-1},
pmid = {12764551},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-003-1194-1}
}
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