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Comparison of different MRI brain atrophy rate measures with clinical disease progression in AD
Jack CR, Shiung MM, Gunter JL, O'Brien PC, Weigand SD, Knopman DS, Boeve BF, Ivnik RJ et al.. Neurology, 2004-02-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective To correlate different methods of measuring rates of brain atrophy from serial MRI with corresponding clinical change in normal elderly subjects, patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and patients with probable Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods One hundred sixty subjects were recruited from the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and Alzheimer's Disease Patient Registry Studies. At baseline, 55 subjects were cognitively normal, 41 met criteria for MCI, and 64 met criteria for AD. Each subject underwent an MRI examination of the brain at the time of the baseline clinical assessment and then again at the time of a follow-up clinical assessment, 1 to 5 years later. The annualized changes in volume of four structures were measured from the serial MRI studies: hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, whole brain, and ventricle. Rates of change on several cognitive tests/rating scales were also assessed. Subjects who were classified as normal or MCI at baseline could either remain stable or convert to a lower-functioning group. AD subjects were dichotomized into slow vs fast progressors. Results All four atrophy rates were greater among normal subjects who converted to MCI or AD than among those who remained stable, greater among MCI subjects who converted to AD than among those who remained stable, and greater among fast than slow AD progressors. In general, atrophy on MRI was detected more consistently than decline on specific cognitive tests/rating scales. With one exception, no differences were found among the four MRI rate measures in the strength of the correlation with clinical deterioration at different stages of the disease. Conclusions These data support the use of rates of change from serial MRI studies in addition to standard clinical/psychometric measures as surrogate markers of disease progression in AD. Estimated sample sizes required to power a therapeutic trial in MCI were an order of magnitude less for MRI than for change measures based on cognitive tests/rating scales.
Key findings
- Results All four atrophy rates were greater among normal subjects who converted to MCI or AD than among those who remained stable, greater among MCI subjects who converted to AD than among those who remained stable, and greater among fast than slow AD progressors.
Why it matters
Among 160 subjects, rates of brain atrophy on serial MRI were greater in people who converted from normal to mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease and in faster progressors. This links imaging measures to disease progression and provides no information on treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Participants55
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 59/100
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 | 1 / 5 | 2004 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 55 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 830 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 34.6 citations a year over 24 year(s) since 2004 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 26.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 74 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 56 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Ronald Carl Petersen: h-index 209 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Mayo Clinic: institution h-index 1,606 (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 14981176) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000110315.26026.ef
- PubMed: 14981176
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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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
Jack, C. R., Shiung, M. M., Gunter, J. L., O'Brien, P. C., Weigand, S. D., Knopman, D. S., et al. (2004). Comparison of different MRI brain atrophy rate measures with clinical disease progression in AD. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000110315.26026.ef
Vancouver
Jack CR, Shiung MM, Gunter JL, O'Brien PC, Weigand SD, Knopman DS, et al. Comparison of different MRI brain atrophy rate measures with clinical disease progression in AD. Neurology. 2004. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000110315.26026.ef. PMID: 14981176.
BibTeX
@article{jack2004-14981176,
author = {Jack, C. R. and Shiung, M. M. and Gunter, J. L. and O'Brien, P. C. and Weigand, S. D. and Knopman, D. S. and Boeve, B. F. and Ivnik, R. J. and others},
title = {{Comparison of different MRI brain atrophy rate measures with clinical disease progression in AD}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2004},
doi = {10.1212/01.wnl.0000110315.26026.ef},
pmid = {14981176},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000110315.26026.ef}
}
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