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Five-year outcomes after IVIG for mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimer disease
Kile S, Au W, Parise C, Rose K, Donnel T, Hankins A, Au Y, Chan M et al.. BMC neuroscience, 2021-08-06
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background The purpose of this study was to assess the five-year treatment effects of a short course of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods Fifty subjects 50 to 84 years of age with MCI due to AD were administered 0.4 g/kg 10% IVIG or 0.9% saline every two weeks x five doses in a randomized double-blinded design as part of a two-year study. Twenty-seven subjects completed an additional three-year extension study. MRI brain imaging, cognitive testing, and conversion to dementia were assessed annually. Participants were stratified into early MCI (E-MCI) and late MCI (L-MCI). The primary endpoint was brain atrophy measured as annualized percent change in ventricular volume (APCV) annually for five years. ANOVA was used to compare annualized percent change in ventricular volume from baseline between the groups adjusting for MCI status (E-MCI, L-MCI). Results Differences in brain atrophy between the groups, which were statistically significant after one year, were no longer significant after five years. IVIG-treated L-MCI subjects did demonstrate a delay in conversion to dementia of 21.4 weeks. Conclusion An eight-week course of IVIG totaling 2 g/kg in MCI is safe but is not sufficient to sustain an initial reduction in brain atrophy or a temporary delay in conversion to dementia at five years. Other dosing strategies of IVIG in the early stages of AD should be investigated to assess more sustainable disease-modifying effects. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01300728. Registered 23 February 2011.
Key findings
- Results Differences in brain atrophy between the groups, which were statistically significant after one year, were no longer significant after five years.
Why it matters
A short course of IVIG in people with mild cognitive impairment was safe, but its early effect on brain atrophy was gone by five years. Any delay in conversion to dementia was temporary and did not last.
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Study details
- Effect sizeor 0.9
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 55/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 53 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 55 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (BMC neuroscience) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | BMC Neuroscience: journal h-index 135 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 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 | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomised and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 5 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.7 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.5× 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 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Azad Ghassemi holds only 3 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Sutter Health: institution h-index 135 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 34362303) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 53 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 53 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 55 out of 100. |
| Total | 55 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1186/s12868-021-00651-2
- PubMed: 34362303
- Original source →
- Free full text: BMC Neuroscience →
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
Kile, S., Au, W., Parise, C., Rose, K., Donnel, T., Hankins, A., et al. (2021). Five-year outcomes after IVIG for mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimer disease. BMC neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12868-021-00651-2
Vancouver
Kile S, Au W, Parise C, Rose K, Donnel T, Hankins A, et al. Five-year outcomes after IVIG for mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimer disease. BMC neuroscience. 2021. doi:10.1186/s12868-021-00651-2. PMID: 34362303.
BibTeX
@article{kile2021-34362303,
author = {Kile, S. and Au, W. and Parise, C. and Rose, K. and Donnel, T. and Hankins, A. and Au, Y. and Chan, M. and others},
title = {{Five-year outcomes after IVIG for mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimer disease}},
journal = {BMC neuroscience},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1186/s12868-021-00651-2},
pmid = {34362303},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12868-021-00651-2}
}
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