Home › Research › Brain scans and imaging
Identification of pure subcortical vascular dementia using 11C-Pittsburgh compound B
Lee JH, Kim SH, Kim GH, Seo SW, Park HK, Oh SJ, Kim JS, Cheong HK et al.. Neurology, 2011-05-18
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Background Subcortical vascular dementia (SVaD) is considered the most common type of vascular dementia and often follows a slowly progressive course, simulating Alzheimer disease (AD). Whether the progressive cognitive decline is associated with pure SVaD or concomitant AD remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine what proportion of patients with SVaD lack abnormal amyloid imaging, and to examine differences in the clinical or MRI features between subjects with SVaD with cortical amyloid deposition and those without. Methods We measured brain amyloid deposition using (11)C-Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) PET in 45 patients (men: women = 19:26; mean age 74.2 ± 7.6 years) with SVaD. They all met DSM-IV criteria for vascular dementia and had severe white matter high signal intensities without territorial infarction or macrohemorrhage on MRI. Results Thirty-one (68.9%) of 45 patients with SVaD were negative for cortical PiB binding. There was significant difference between (11)C-PiB-positive and (11)C-PiB-negative groups in terms of age (79.5 vs 71.9 years), Mini-Mental State Examination score (18.6 vs 22.6), the number of lacunes (3.9 vs 9.0), and the visual rating scale of hippocampal atrophy (3.1 vs 2.3). The neuropsychological assessments revealed that patients with (11)C-PiB-negative SVaD performed better on the delayed recall of both the verbal and visual memory test than did those with (11)C-PiB-positive scan. Conclusion SVaD without abnormal amyloid imaging was more common than expected. Patients with SVaD with and without abnormal amyloid imaging differed in clinical and MRI features, although there was considerable overlap.
Key findings
- Whether the progressive cognitive decline is associated with pure SVaD or concomitant AD remains unknown.
- Results Thirty-one (68.9%) of 45 patients with SVaD were negative for cortical PiB binding.
- There was significant difference between (11)C-PiB-positive and (11)C-PiB-negative groups in terms of age (79.5 vs 71.9 years), Mini-Mental State Examination score (18.6 vs 22.6), the number of lacunes (3.9 vs 9.0), and the visual rating scale of hippocampal atrophy (3.1 vs 2.3).
- The neuropsychological assessments revealed that patients with (11)C-PiB-negative SVaD performed better on the delayed recall of both the verbal and visual memory test than did those with (11)C-PiB-positive scan.
Why it matters
Among 45 patients diagnosed with subcortical vascular dementia, about 69% had no abnormal amyloid on PET imaging, suggesting their dementia was not accompanied by Alzheimer-type amyloid. The remaining patients with amyloid differed in age, memory test scores, and other MRI features, which may help tell these groups apart.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Brain scans & tests →
Study details
- Participants45
- Effect size68.9%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design 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 | 2011 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 45 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 179 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.5 citations a year over 17 year(s) since 2011 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 11.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 14 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 8 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author D.L. Na: h-index 9 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Sungkyunkwan University: institution h-index 788 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21593437) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
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
Lee, J. H., Kim, S. H., Kim, G. H., Seo, S. W., Park, H. K., Oh, S. J., et al. (2011). Identification of pure subcortical vascular dementia using 11C-Pittsburgh compound B. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e318221acee
Vancouver
Lee JH, Kim SH, Kim GH, Seo SW, Park HK, Oh SJ, et al. Identification of pure subcortical vascular dementia using 11C-Pittsburgh compound B. Neurology. 2011. doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e318221acee. PMID: 21593437.
BibTeX
@article{lee2011-21593437,
author = {Lee, J. H. and Kim, S. H. and Kim, G. H. and Seo, S. W. and Park, H. K. and Oh, S. J. and Kim, J. S. and Cheong, H. K. and others},
title = {{Identification of pure subcortical vascular dementia using 11C-Pittsburgh compound B}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0b013e318221acee},
pmid = {21593437},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e318221acee}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Later studies that cite this one
14 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.