Get help now — free helplines

You can call any of these for free. You do not need a diagnosis, an appointment, or a crisis to call — questions and plain exhaustion are reasons enough.

  • Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline 800-272-3900 24 hours a day, 365 days a year Free, confidential support and information for people with dementia, caregivers, families and the public. Master's-level clinicians. Also Spanish.
  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 988 24/7 Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. For anyone in emotional distress or a mental-health crisis, including caregivers.
  • Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) Helpline 866-232-8484 9:00 am - 9:00 pm ET, seven days a week Licensed social workers providing support, info and referrals. Also text message and web chat. Text: 646-586-5283

In a medical emergency, call 911. More numbers, and what each line does, on the help page.

This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 51 out of 100. Brain scans and imaging

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Objective To compare the patterns of gray matter loss in subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) who progress to Alzheimer disease (AD) within a fixed clinical follow-up time vs those who remain stable. Methods Twenty-one subjects with aMCI were identified from the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's research program who remained clinically stable for their entire observed clinical course (aMCI-S), where the minimum required follow-up time from MRI to last follow-up assessment was 3 years. These subjects were age- and gender-matched to 42 aMCI subjects who progressed to AD within 18 months of the MRI (aMCI-P). Each subject was then age- and gender-matched to a control subject. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to assess patterns of gray matter atrophy in the aMCI-P and aMCI-S groups compared to the control group, and compared to each other. Results The aMCI-P group showed bilateral loss affecting the medial and inferior temporal lobe, temporoparietal association neocortex, and frontal lobes, compared to controls. The aMCI-S group showed no regions of gray matter loss when compared to controls. When the aMCI-P and aMCI-S groups were compared directly, the aMCI-P group showed greater loss in the medial and inferior temporal lobes, the temporoparietal neocortex, posterior cingulate, precuneus, anterior cingulate, and frontal lobes than the aMCI-S group. Conclusions The regions of loss observed in subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) who progressed to Alzheimer disease (AD) within 18 months of the MRI are typical of subjects with AD. The lack of gray matter loss in subjects with aMCI who remained clinically stable for their entire observed clinical course is consistent with the notion that patterns of atrophy on MRI at baseline map well onto the subsequent clinical course.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Whitwell, J. L., Shiung, M. M., Przybelski, S. A., Weigand, S. D., Knopman, D. S., Boeve, B. F., et al. (2008). MRI patterns of atrophy associated with progression to AD in amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000280575.77437.a2

Vancouver

Whitwell JL, Shiung MM, Przybelski SA, Weigand SD, Knopman DS, Boeve BF, et al. MRI patterns of atrophy associated with progression to AD in amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Neurology. 2008. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000280575.77437.a2. PMID: 17898323.

BibTeX

@article{whitwell2008-17898323,
  author  = {Whitwell, J. L. and Shiung, M. M. and Przybelski, S. A. and Weigand, S. D. and Knopman, D. S. and Boeve, B. F. and Petersen, R. C. and Jack, C. R.},
  title   = {{MRI patterns of atrophy associated with progression to AD in amnestic mild cognitive impairment}},
  journal = {Neurology},
  year    = {2008},
  doi     = {10.1212/01.wnl.0000280575.77437.a2},
  pmid    = {17898323},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000280575.77437.a2}
}

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 8 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.

Key findings

Why it matters

People with amnestic mild cognitive impairment who progressed to Alzheimer's disease within 18 months showed gray matter loss in several brain regions, while those who remained stable showed no such loss compared with controls. This helps describe imaging patterns that predict progression but does not provide a treatment or cure.

Study details

How this study scored 51/100
How this study's score is builtJournal tier 9 of 10; Journal's citation record 4 of 4; Study design 0 of 12; Strength of evidence 1 of 5; Peer-review validation 10 of 10; How recent 1 of 5; Sample size 0 of 4; Effect reported 0 of 3; Studied in people 0 of 3; Randomized / blinded 0 of 2; Times cited 6 of 7; Citations per year 3 of 5; Impact for its field and year 4 of 6; Cited by studies here 3 of 6; Still being cited 2 of 4; Senior author's track record 4 of 4; Institution's track record 2 of 3; Multicenter collaboration 0 of 3; Indexed in PubMed 2 of 2; Free to read 0 of 2. Total 51 of 100.51 of 100 points earned49 not earned

Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

ComponentPointsWhy
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 2008 — 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)
Randomized / blinded 0 / 2 No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited 6 / 7 Cited 364 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year 3 / 5 18.2 citations a year over 20 year(s) since 2008
Impact for its field and year 4 / 6 Cited 18.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here 3 / 6 Cited by 23 other studies in this library
Still being cited 2 / 4 Cited 29 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record 4 / 4 Last-listed author Clifford R. Jack: h-index 203 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record 2 / 3 Mayo Clinic: institution h-index 1,606 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration 0 / 3 OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete)
Indexed in PubMed 2 / 2 Indexed in PubMed (PMID 17898323)
Free to read 0 / 2 Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total 51 / 100 —

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 24.

Later studies that cite this one

23 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.

Related studies in Brain scans and imaging

Also tagged “mini-mental”

840 studies in the library carry the topic tag “mini-mental”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 840 tagged studies.

Studies sharing this one's topic tags

Similar studies

More on Brain scans and imaging

See all studies in Brain scans and imaging →