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Impact of age-related cerebral white matter changes on the transition to disability -- the LADIS study: rationale, design and methodology
Pantoni L, Basile AM, Pracucci G, Asplund K, Bogousslavsky J, Chabriat H, Erkinjuntti T, Fazekas F et al.. Neuroepidemiology, 2005-01-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Age-related white matter changes (ARWMC) on brain MRI have been associated with cognitive, motor, mood and urinary disturbances. These factors are known to contribute to disability in elderly people, but the impact of ARWMC and of their progression on the transition to disability is not determined. The LADIS (Leukoaraiosis and Disability in the Elderly) study aims at assessing the role of ARWMC as an independent predictor of the transition to disability in initially nondisabled elderly (65-84 years). Subjects who are not impaired or impaired on only 1 item of the Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (IADL) scale, presenting with different grades of ARWMC severity, were enrolled. Eleven European centers are involved. All the patients were assessed at baseline using an extensive set of clinical and functional tests including global functioning, cognitive, motor, psychiatric and quality of life measures. MRI studies were performed at baseline and will be repeated at the end of the follow-up period to evaluate changes of ARWMC and other lesions. ARWMC were categorized into mild, moderate or severe using the scale of Fazekas et al. For each ARWMC severity class, the primary study outcome is the transition to disability defined as an impairment on 2 or more IADL scale items. Secondary outcomes are the occurrence of dementia, depression, vascular events or death. Six-hundred and thirty-nine subjects (mean age 74.13 +/- 5.0 years, M/F: 288/351) were enrolled in a hospital-based setting and are being followed up for up to 3 years. The large and comprehensive set of measures in LADIS enables a comprehensive description of their functional and clinical features to be examined in relation to different morphological patterns and severity of ARWMC. The longitudinal design will give insight into the possible role of ARWMC and their progression as an independent contributor to disability in the elderly, eventually helping to develop preventive strategies to reduce the burden of disability in late life. The study results may also help to standardize, on an international basis, tools and criteria to identify early stages of disability.
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APA 7th
Pantoni, L., Basile, A. M., Pracucci, G., Asplund, K., Bogousslavsky, J., Chabriat, H., et al. (2005). Impact of age-related cerebral white matter changes on the transition to disability -- the LADIS study: rationale, design and methodology. Neuroepidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1159/000081050
Vancouver
Pantoni L, Basile AM, Pracucci G, Asplund K, Bogousslavsky J, Chabriat H, et al. Impact of age-related cerebral white matter changes on the transition to disability -- the LADIS study: rationale, design and methodology. Neuroepidemiology. 2005. doi:10.1159/000081050. PMID: 15459510.
BibTeX
@article{pantoni2005-15459510,
author = {Pantoni, L. and Basile, A. M. and Pracucci, G. and Asplund, K. and Bogousslavsky, J. and Chabriat, H. and Erkinjuntti, T. and Fazekas, F. and others},
title = {{Impact of age-related cerebral white matter changes on the transition to disability -- the LADIS study: rationale, design and methodology}},
journal = {Neuroepidemiology},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.1159/000081050},
pmid = {15459510},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1159/000081050}
}
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Key findings
- Age-related white matter changes (ARWMC) on brain MRI have been associated with cognitive, motor, mood and urinary disturbances.
- The study results may also help to standardize, on an international basis, tools and criteria to identify early stages of disability.
Why it matters
The LADIS study was designed to assess whether age-related white matter changes on MRI independently predict the transition to disability in initially nondisabled elderly people, with dementia as a secondary outcome. This paper describes the rationale, design and methodology, so it reports no results on treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 55/100
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 randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neuroepidemiology) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Neuroepidemiology: journal h-index 125 (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 | 2005 — 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 443 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 19.3 citations a year over 23 year(s) since 2005 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 10.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 9 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 37 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Domenico Inzitari: h-index 60 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Karolinska Institutet: institution h-index 1,477 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 14 institution(s) in 11 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 15459510) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 55 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1159/000081050
- PubMed: 15459510
- Original source →
- Free full text: Amsterdam UMC (VU Amsterdam) - Institutional Repository →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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