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Cerebral vasoreactivity and intima-media thickness in Down syndrome: A case-control study
Colella M, Stilo C, Cocchella A, Bianchini D, Pilotto A, Del Sette P, Musolino R.. Journal of the neurological sciences, 2017-11-15
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Subjects with Down Syndrome (DS) have high prevalence of cerebral vascular amyloidosis, cognitive decline and dementia. In Alzheimer Disease, impaired vasoreactivity has been reported as the results of vascular amyloid deposition. Aim of our study was to verify presence of impaired cerebral vasoreactivity and to study carotid intima media-thickness (IMT) by carotid and transcranial ultrasound. We studied 25 DS and compared them with 25 age- and sex-matched normal controls. Vasomotor reactivity was evaluated by means of breath-holding index (BHI) test. There was no difference in IMT, both considering the two side separately (left: 0.70±0.10 vs 0.69±0.12mm, p=0.6) (right: 0.67±0.13 vs 0.68±0.10mm, p=0.5), and considering the sum of both sides (1.38±0.22 vs 1.38±0.23mm, p=1). There was a significant difference in peak systolic velocities (PSV) (139.75±27.67 vs. 123.89±25.73cm/s, p=0.04) and in pulsatility index (PI) (0.95±0.14 vs. 0.86±0.12, p=0.02). BHI was significantly lower in DS than in controls (1.15±0.38 vs 1.88±0.72, p<0.001). In conclusion, subjects with DS have increased PSV and PI, and show a reduction of BHI, expression of impaired vasomotor reserve, possibly due to micro-vascular impairment. Larger study with longitudinal design is needed to verify our data.
Key findings
- In Alzheimer Disease, impaired vasoreactivity has been reported as the results of vascular amyloid deposition.
- There was a significant difference in peak systolic velocities (PSV) (139.75±27.67 vs. 123.89±25.73cm/s, p=0.04) and in pulsatility index (PI) (0.95±0.14 vs. 0.86±0.12, p=0.02).
- BHI was significantly lower in DS than in controls (1.15±0.38 vs 1.88±0.72, p<0.001).
- In conclusion, subjects with DS have increased PSV and PI, and show a reduction of BHI, expression of impaired vasomotor reserve, possibly due to micro-vascular impairment.
Why it matters
In this small case-control study, adults with Down syndrome had reduced cerebral vasomotor reserve compared with controls, while carotid intima-media thickness did not differ. The authors state that larger longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these findings, so no treatment or prevention conclusion can be drawn.
Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants25
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 42/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the neurological sciences) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of the Neurological Sciences: journal h-index 233 (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 | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 25 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 | 1 / 7 | Cited 2 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.2 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.2× 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 | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Rosa Fortunata Musolino: h-index 14 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Genoa: institution h-index 727 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 29406914) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 42 / 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 7 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
Colella, M., Stilo, C., Cocchella, A., Bianchini, D., Pilotto, A., Del Sette, P., et al. (2018). Cerebral vasoreactivity and intima-media thickness in Down syndrome: A case-control study. Journal of the neurological sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2017.11.013
Vancouver
Colella M, Stilo C, Cocchella A, Bianchini D, Pilotto A, Del Sette P, et al. Cerebral vasoreactivity and intima-media thickness in Down syndrome: A case-control study. Journal of the neurological sciences. 2018. doi:10.1016/j.jns.2017.11.013. PMID: 29406914.
BibTeX
@article{colella2018-29406914,
author = {Colella, M. and Stilo, C. and Cocchella, A. and Bianchini, D. and Pilotto, A. and Del Sette, P. and Musolino, R.},
title = {{Cerebral vasoreactivity and intima-media thickness in Down syndrome: A case-control study}},
journal = {Journal of the neurological sciences},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1016/j.jns.2017.11.013},
pmid = {29406914},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2017.11.013}
}
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