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Does Midbrain Atrophy Distinguish Progressive Supranuclear Palsy from Frontotemporal Dementia?
Mauro César Quintão e Silva Cunningham, Sarah Camargos, Vinícius Ribeiro Jeunon, Natália Pessoa Rocha, Antônio Lúcio Teixeira, Thiago de Oliveira Maciel, Elisa de Paula França Resende, Francisco Cardoso et al.. Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, 2025-04-02
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Compared to controls, PSP and bvFTD had lower values of midbrain area, HBS-RS and GMA, and higher MRPI and MRPI 2.0. HBS-RS, GMA, midbrain/pons ratio, midbrain area, MRPI, MRPI 2.0 and brainstem volume distinguished PSP from bvFTD with 73%, 67%, 75%, 83%, 71%, 69% and 82% accuracies, respectively. Both quantitative and qualitative measures of midbrain atrophy provided modest accuracy in distinguishing PSP from bvFTD.
Key findings
- Compared to controls, PSP and bvFTD had lower values of midbrain area, HBS-RS and GMA, and higher MRPI and MRPI 2.0.
- HBS-RS, GMA, midbrain/pons ratio, midbrain area, MRPI, MRPI 2.0 and brainstem volume distinguished PSP from bvFTD with 73%, 67%, 75%, 83%, 71%, 69% and 82% accuracies, respectively.
- Both quantitative and qualitative measures of midbrain atrophy provided modest accuracy in distinguishing PSP from bvFTD.
Why it matters
Measures of midbrain atrophy distinguished progressive supranuclear palsy from behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia with only modest accuracy, ranging from 67% to 83%. This is a diagnostic comparison study and provides no information about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Participants19
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 42/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Movement Disorders Clinical Practice) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Movement Disorders Clinical Practice: journal h-index 59 (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 | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 19 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 | 2 / 7 | Cited 5 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.2× 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 | 1 / 4 | Cited 5 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Leonardo Cruz de Souza: h-index 46 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center: institution h-index 883 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40172482) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 42 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1002/mdc3.70058
- PubMed: 40172482
- Original source →
- Free full text: Movement Disorders Clinical Practice →
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
Cunningham, M. C. Q. e. S., Camargos, S., Jeunon, V. R., Rocha, N. P., Teixeira, A. L., Maciel, T. d. O., et al. (2025). Does Midbrain Atrophy Distinguish Progressive Supranuclear Palsy from Frontotemporal Dementia? Movement Disorders Clinical Practice. https://doi.org/10.1002/mdc3.70058
Vancouver
Cunningham MCQeS, Camargos S, Jeunon VR, Rocha NP, Teixeira AL, Maciel TdO, et al. Does Midbrain Atrophy Distinguish Progressive Supranuclear Palsy from Frontotemporal Dementia? Movement Disorders Clinical Practice. 2025. doi:10.1002/mdc3.70058. PMID: 40172482.
BibTeX
@article{cunningham2025-40172482,
author = {Cunningham, Mauro César Quintão e Silva and Camargos, Sarah and Jeunon, Vinícius Ribeiro and Rocha, Natália Pessoa and Teixeira, Antônio Lúcio and Maciel, Thiago de Oliveira and Resende, Elisa de Paula França and Cardoso, Francisco and others},
title = {{Does Midbrain Atrophy Distinguish Progressive Supranuclear Palsy from Frontotemporal Dementia?}},
journal = {Movement Disorders Clinical Practice},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/mdc3.70058},
pmid = {40172482},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/mdc3.70058}
}
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