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Longitudinal brain metabolic changes from amnestic mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease
Fouquet M, Desgranges B, Landeau B, Duchesnay E, Mézenge F, de la Sayette V, Viader F, Baron JC et al.. Brain : a journal of neurology, 2009-05-28
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
A sensitive marker for monitoring progression of early Alzheimer's disease would help to develop and test new therapeutic strategies. The present study is aimed at investigating brain metabolism changes over time, as a potential monitoring marker, in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, according to their clinical outcome (converters or non-converters), and in relation to their cognitive decline. Seventeen amnestic mild cognitive impairment patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging and 18FDG-positron emission tomography scans both at inclusion and 18 months later. Baseline and follow-up positron emission tomography data were corrected for partial volume effects and spatially normalized using magnetic resonance imaging data, scaled to the vermis and compared using SPM2. 'PET-PAC' maps reflecting metabolic per cent annual changes were created for correlation analyses with cognitive decline. In the whole sample, the greatest metabolic decrease concerned the posterior cingulate-precuneus area. Converters had significantly greater metabolic decrease than non-converters in two ventro-medial prefrontal areas, the subgenual (BA25) and anterior cingulate (BA24/32). PET-PAC in BA25 and BA24/32 combined allowed complete between-group discrimination. BA25 PET-PAC significantly correlated with both cognitive decline and PET-PAC in the hippocampal region and temporal pole, while BA24/32 PET-PAC correlated with posterior cingulate PET-PAC. Finally, the metabolic change in BA8/9/10 was inversely related to that in BA25 and showed relative increase with cognitive decline, suggesting that compensatory processes may occur in this dorso-medial prefrontal region. The observed ventro-medial prefrontal disruption is likely to reflect disconnection from the hippocampus, both indirectly through the cingulum bundle and posterior cingulate cortex for BA24/32, and directly through the uncinate fasciculus for BA25. Altogether, our findings emphasize the potential of 18FDG-positron emission tomography for monitoring early Alzheimer's disease progression.
Key findings
- Converters had significantly greater metabolic decrease than non-converters in two ventro-medial prefrontal areas, the subgenual (BA25) and anterior cingulate (BA24/32).
- BA25 PET-PAC significantly correlated with both cognitive decline and PET-PAC in the hippocampal region and temporal pole, while BA24/32 PET-PAC correlated with posterior cingulate PET-PAC.
- Finally, the metabolic change in BA8/9/10 was inversely related to that in BA25 and showed relative increase with cognitive decline, suggesting that compensatory processes may occur in this dorso-medial prefrontal region.
- Altogether, our findings emphasize the potential of 18FDG-positron emission tomography for monitoring early Alzheimer's disease progression.
Why it matters
This study found that people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment who converted to Alzheimer's disease had greater metabolic decreases in certain brain regions than those who did not convert. The findings describe brain changes associated with progression to Alzheimer's disease but do not test any treatment or prevention.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 48/100
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 (Brain : a journal of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Brain: journal h-index 503 (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 | 2009 — 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 148 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.8 citations a year over 19 year(s) since 2009 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 8.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 7 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 12 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Gaël Chételat: h-index 90 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Inserm: institution h-index 1,988 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 19477964) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 48 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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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
Fouquet, M., Desgranges, B., Landeau, B., Duchesnay, E., Mézenge, F., de la Sayette, V., et al. (2009). Longitudinal brain metabolic changes from amnestic mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease. Brain : a journal of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awp132
Vancouver
Fouquet M, Desgranges B, Landeau B, Duchesnay E, Mézenge F, de la Sayette V, et al. Longitudinal brain metabolic changes from amnestic mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease. Brain : a journal of neurology. 2009. doi:10.1093/brain/awp132. PMID: 19477964.
BibTeX
@article{fouquet2009-19477964,
author = {Fouquet, M. and Desgranges, B. and Landeau, B. and Duchesnay, E. and Mézenge, F. and de la Sayette, V. and Viader, F. and Baron, J. C. and others},
title = {{Longitudinal brain metabolic changes from amnestic mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Brain : a journal of neurology},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.1093/brain/awp132},
pmid = {19477964},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awp132}
}
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