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Entorhinal cortex thickness predicts cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease
Velayudhan L, Proitsi P, Westman E, Muehlboeck JS, Mecocci P, Vellas B, Tsolaki M, Kłoszewska I et al.. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2013-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) based on non-invasive methods are highly desirable for diagnosis, disease progression, and monitoring therapeutics. We aimed to study the use of hippocampal volume, entorhinal cortex (ERC) thickness, and whole brain volume (WBV) as predictors of cognitive change in patients with AD. 120 AD subjects, 106 mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 99 non demented controls (NDC) from the multi-center pan-European AddNeuroMed study underwent MRI scanning at baseline and clinical evaluations at quarterly follow-up up to 1 year. The rate of cognitive decline was estimated using cognitive outcomes, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Alzheimer disease assessment scale-cognitive (ADAS-cog) by fitting a random intercept and slope model. AD subjects had smaller ERC thickness and hippocampal and WBV volumes compared to MCI and NDC subjects. Within the AD group, ERC > WBV was significantly associated with baseline cognition (MMSE, ADAS-cog) and disease severity (Clinical Dementia Rating). Baseline ERC thickness was associated with both longitudinal MMSE and ADAS-cog score changes and WBV with ADAS-cog decline. These data indicate that AD subjects with thinner ERC had lower baseline cognitive scores, higher disease severity, and predicted greater subsequent cognitive decline at one year follow up. ERC is a region known to be affected early in the disease. Therefore, the rate of atrophy in this structure is expected to be higher since neurodegeneration begins earlier. Focusing on structural analyses that predict decline can identify those individuals at greatest risk for future cognitive loss. This may have potential for increasing the efficacy of early intervention.
Key findings
- AD subjects had smaller ERC thickness and hippocampal and WBV volumes compared to MCI and NDC subjects.
- Within the AD group, ERC > WBV was significantly associated with baseline cognition (MMSE, ADAS-cog) and disease severity (Clinical Dementia Rating).
- Baseline ERC thickness was associated with both longitudinal MMSE and ADAS-cog score changes and WBV with ADAS-cog decline.
- These data indicate that AD subjects with thinner ERC had lower baseline cognitive scores, higher disease severity, and predicted greater subsequent cognitive decline at one year follow up.
Why it matters
In Alzheimer's disease subjects, thinner entorhinal cortex at baseline was associated with lower baseline cognitive scores, higher disease severity, and greater subsequent cognitive decline over one year. Entorhinal cortex thickness predicted cognitive change, and whole brain volume was also associated with decline on one cognitive measure.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 57/100
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, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Alzheimer s Disease: journal h-index 218 (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 | 2013 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| 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 | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 128 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 8.5 citations a year over 15 year(s) since 2013 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 8.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 16 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Andrew D. Simmons: h-index 102 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Inserm: institution h-index 1,988 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 12 institution(s) in 7 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 23047370) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.3233/jad-2012-121408
- PubMed: 23047370
- Original source →
- Free full text: Journal of Alzheimer s Disease →
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
Velayudhan, L., Proitsi, P., Westman, E., Muehlboeck, J. S., Mecocci, P., Vellas, B., et al. (2013). Entorhinal cortex thickness predicts cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-2012-121408
Vancouver
Velayudhan L, Proitsi P, Westman E, Muehlboeck JS, Mecocci P, Vellas B, et al. Entorhinal cortex thickness predicts cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2013. doi:10.3233/jad-2012-121408. PMID: 23047370.
BibTeX
@article{velayudhan2013-23047370,
author = {Velayudhan, L. and Proitsi, P. and Westman, E. and Muehlboeck, J. S. and Mecocci, P. and Vellas, B. and Tsolaki, M. and Kłoszewska, I. and others},
title = {{Entorhinal cortex thickness predicts cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.3233/jad-2012-121408},
pmid = {23047370},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-2012-121408}
}
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