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Frontal lobe white matter hyperintensities and neurofibrillary pathology in the oldest old
Polvikoski TM, van Straaten EC, Barkhof F, Sulkava R, Aronen HJ, Niinistö L, Oinas M, Scheltens P et al.. Neurology, 2010-11-03
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Background Current studies suggest an interaction between vascular mechanisms and neurodegenerative processes that leads to late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD). We tested whether AD pathology was associated with white matter hyperintensities (WMH) or cerebral infarcts in the oldest old individuals. Methods Brains from 132 subjects over 85 years old, who came to autopsy from the Vantaa 85+ population-based cohort, were scanned by postmortem MRI and examined for neuropathologic changes. Coronal images were analyzed to determine the degree of frontal and parietal periventricular WMH (PVWMH) and deep WMH (DWMH) and cerebral infarcts. Neuropathologic variables included Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease scores for neuritic plaques and Braak staging among subjects in 5 groups: normal aging (NA), borderline with insufficient AD pathology, AD, AD plus other pathology, and other primary degenerative diseases. Results Frontal DWMH were detected in >50% of the sample. Both frontal PVWMH and DWMH were significantly more extensive in the AD group compared to the NA group or the NA and borderline groups combined. Frontal PVWMH and DWMH were also associated with increased Braak staging (p = 0.03) and the neuritic plaque load (p = 0.01). Further analysis revealed there were a greater number of cerebral infarcts associated with frontal DWMH (p = 0.03) but not with frontal PVWMH. Conclusions Our study showed an association between neurofibrillary pathology and frontal PVWMH and DWMH (rather than parietal), as a surrogate of small vessel disease, particularly in very old community-dwelling individuals.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Polvikoski, T. M., van Straaten, E. C., Barkhof, F., Sulkava, R., Aronen, H. J., Niinistö, L., et al. (2010). Frontal lobe white matter hyperintensities and neurofibrillary pathology in the oldest old. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e318200d6f9
Vancouver
Polvikoski TM, van Straaten EC, Barkhof F, Sulkava R, Aronen HJ, Niinistö L, et al. Frontal lobe white matter hyperintensities and neurofibrillary pathology in the oldest old. Neurology. 2010. doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e318200d6f9. PMID: 21048201.
BibTeX
@article{polvikoski2010-21048201,
author = {Polvikoski, T. M. and van Straaten, E. C. and Barkhof, F. and Sulkava, R. and Aronen, H. J. and Niinistö, L. and Oinas, M. and Scheltens, P. and others},
title = {{Frontal lobe white matter hyperintensities and neurofibrillary pathology in the oldest old}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0b013e318200d6f9},
pmid = {21048201},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e318200d6f9}
}
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.
Key findings
- We tested whether AD pathology was associated with white matter hyperintensities (WMH) or cerebral infarcts in the oldest old individuals.
- Results Frontal DWMH were detected in >50% of the sample.
- Both frontal PVWMH and DWMH were significantly more extensive in the AD group compared to the NA group or the NA and borderline groups combined.
- Frontal PVWMH and DWMH were also associated with increased Braak staging (p = 0.03) and the neuritic plaque load (p = 0.01).
- Further analysis revealed there were a greater number of cerebral infarcts associated with frontal DWMH (p = 0.03) but not with frontal PVWMH.
Why it matters
In 132 autopsied subjects over 85, frontal periventricular and deep white matter hyperintensities were more extensive in the Alzheimer disease group and were associated with higher Braak staging and neuritic plaque load. This is a postmortem association study linking vascular imaging signs to Alzheimer pathology, not a treatment or prevention finding.
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Study details
- Participants132
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 54/100
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 | 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 | 2010 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 132 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 | 4 / 7 | Cited 88 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 4.9 citations a year over 18 year(s) since 2010 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 12 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 7 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Raj N. Kalaria: h-index 102 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam: institution h-index 938 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21048201) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 54 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0b013e318200d6f9
- PubMed: 21048201
- 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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