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Imaging cerebral atrophy: normal ageing to Alzheimer's disease
Fox NC, Schott JM.. Lancet (London, England), 2004-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Context With ageing populations, the prevalence of dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease, is set to soar. Alzheimer's disease is associated with progressive cerebral atrophy, which can be seen on MRI with high resolution. Longitudinal MRI could track disease progression and detect neurodegenerative diseases earlier to allow prompt and specific treatment. Such use of MRI requires accurate understanding of how brain changes in normal ageing differ from those in dementia. Starting point Recently, Henry Rusinek and colleagues, in a 6-year longitudinal MRI study of initially healthy elderly subjects, showed that an increased rate of atrophy in the medial temporal lobe predicted future cognitive decline with a specificity of 91% and sensitivity of 89% (Radiology 2003; 229: 691-96). WHERE NEXT? As understanding of neurodegenerative diseases increases, specific disease-modifying treatments might become available. Serial MRI could help to determine the efficacy of such treatments, which would be expected to slow the rate of atrophy towards that of normal ageing, and might also detect the onset of neurodegeneration. The amount and pattern of excess atrophy might help to predict the underlying pathological process, allowing specific therapies to be started. As the precision of imaging improves, the ability to distinguish healthy ageing from degenerative dementia should improve.
Key findings
- Alzheimer's disease is associated with progressive cerebral atrophy, which can be seen on MRI with high resolution.
- Starting point Recently, Henry Rusinek and colleagues, in a 6-year longitudinal MRI study of initially healthy elderly subjects, showed that an increased rate of atrophy in the medial temporal lobe predicted future cognitive decline with a specificity of 91% and sensitivity of 89% (Radiology 2003; 229: 691-96).
Why it matters
This commentary discusses how serial MRI tracking of cerebral atrophy could detect neurodegenerative disease earlier and help assess treatments that slow atrophy. It reports on imaging as a potential tool and does not itself test any treatment or cure.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 62/100
Published in a top-tier 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 | 10 / 10 | Tier 1 — top-tier general journal (Lancet (London, England)) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | The Lancet: journal h-index 1,205 (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 | 2004 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 439 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 18.3 citations a year over 24 year(s) since 2004 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 26 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 56 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Jonathan M. Schott: h-index 96 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 15074306) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 62 / 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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Fox, N. C., & Schott, J. M. (2004). Imaging cerebral atrophy: normal ageing to Alzheimer's disease. Lancet (London, England). https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(04)15441-x
Vancouver
Fox NC, Schott JM. Imaging cerebral atrophy: normal ageing to Alzheimer's disease. Lancet (London, England). 2004. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(04)15441-x. PMID: 15074306.
BibTeX
@article{fox2004-15074306,
author = {Fox, N. C. and Schott, J. M.},
title = {{Imaging cerebral atrophy: normal ageing to Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Lancet (London, England)},
year = {2004},
doi = {10.1016/s0140-6736(04)15441-x},
pmid = {15074306},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(04)15441-x}
}
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