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Initial cognitive decline is associated with cortical thinning in early Parkinson disease
Pereira JB, Svenningsson P, Weintraub D, Brønnick K, Lebedev A, Westman E, Aarsland D.. Neurology, 2014-05-07
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objectives Our aim was to assess cortical thickness in a large multicenter cohort of drug-naive patients with early Parkinson disease (PD), with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and explore the cognitive correlates of regional cortical thinning. Methods One hundred twenty-three newly diagnosed patients with PD and 56 healthy controls with 3-tesla structural MRI scans and complete neuropsychological assessment from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative were included. Modified Movement Disorders Society Task Force level II criteria were applied to diagnose MCI in PD. FreeSurfer image processing and analysis software was used to measure cortical thickness across groups and the association with cognitive domains and tests. Results In patients with MCI, atrophy was found in temporal, parietal, frontal, and occipital areas compared with controls. Specific regional thinning in the right inferior temporal cortex was also found in cognitively normal patients. Memory, executive, and visuospatial performance was associated with temporoparietal and superior frontal thinning, suggesting a relationship between cognitive impairment and both anterior and posterior cortical atrophy in the whole patient sample. Conclusions These findings confirm that MCI is associated with widespread cortical atrophy. In addition, they suggest that regional cortical thinning is already present at the time of diagnosis in patients with early, untreated PD who do not meet the criteria for MCI. Together, the results indicate that cortical thinning can serve as a marker for initial cognitive decline in early PD.
Key findings
- Results In patients with MCI, atrophy was found in temporal, parietal, frontal, and occipital areas compared with controls.
- Memory, executive, and visuospatial performance was associated with temporoparietal and superior frontal thinning, suggesting a relationship between cognitive impairment and both anterior and posterior cortical atrophy in the whole patient sample.
- Conclusions These findings confirm that MCI is associated with widespread cortical atrophy.
- In addition, they suggest that regional cortical thinning is already present at the time of diagnosis in patients with early, untreated PD who do not meet the criteria for MCI.
- Together, the results indicate that cortical thinning can serve as a marker for initial cognitive decline in early PD.
Why it matters
In this group of people with early Parkinson's disease, those with mild cognitive impairment showed widespread thinning of the cortex, and some thinning was already present in cognitively normal patients. This concerns Parkinson's disease rather than Alzheimer's disease, and it does not test any treatment.
Study details
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 52/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people 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 | 2014 — within 20 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 | 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 199 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 14.2 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 10.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 39 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Dag Aarsland: h-index 141 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Pennsylvania: institution h-index 1,859 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24808018) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 52 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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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 names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Pereira, J. B., Svenningsson, P., Weintraub, D., Brønnick, K., Lebedev, A., Westman, E., et al. (2014). Initial cognitive decline is associated with cortical thinning in early Parkinson disease. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000000483
Vancouver
Pereira JB, Svenningsson P, Weintraub D, Brønnick K, Lebedev A, Westman E, et al. Initial cognitive decline is associated with cortical thinning in early Parkinson disease. Neurology. 2014. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000000483. PMID: 24808018.
BibTeX
@article{pereira2014-24808018,
author = {Pereira, J. B. and Svenningsson, P. and Weintraub, D. and Brønnick, K. and Lebedev, A. and Westman, E. and Aarsland, D.},
title = {{Initial cognitive decline is associated with cortical thinning in early Parkinson disease}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000000483},
pmid = {24808018},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000000483}
}
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