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Parafoveal vessel loss and correlation between peripapillary vessel density and cognitive performance in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's Disease on optical coherence tomography angiography
Zhang YS, Zhou N, Knoll BM, Samra S, Ward MR, Weintraub S, Fawzi AA.. PloS one, 2019-04-02
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Purpose Patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) exhibit decreased retinal blood flow and vessel density (VD). However, it is not known whether these changes are also present in individuals with early AD (eAD) or amnestic type mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), an enriched pre-AD population with a higher risk for progressing to dementia. We performed a prospective case-control clinical study to investigate whether optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) parameters in the macula and disc are altered in those with aMCI and eAD.
Key findings
- However, it is not known whether these changes are also present in individuals with early AD (eAD) or amnestic type mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), an enriched pre-AD population with a higher risk for progressing to dementia.
- We performed a prospective case-control clinical study to investigate whether optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) parameters in the macula and disc are altered in those with aMCI and eAD.
- Methods This is a single center study of 32 participants.
- Individuals with aMCI/eAD (n = 16) were 1:1 matched to cognitively normal controls (n = 16).
Why it matters
This small case-control study used eye scans to look for retinal blood vessel changes in people with early Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment. It does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Study designcase-control study
- Participants16
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 61/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a case-control study. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (PloS one) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | PLoS ONE: journal h-index 594 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 6 / 12 | A case-control study |
| 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 | 2 / 5 | 2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 16 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 144 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 16.0 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 13.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 52 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Amani A. Fawzi: h-index 58 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Northwestern University: institution h-index 1,592 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre 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 30939178) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 61 / 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).
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
Zhang, Y. S., Zhou, N., Knoll, B. M., Samra, S., Ward, M. R., Weintraub, S., et al. (2019). Parafoveal vessel loss and correlation between peripapillary vessel density and cognitive performance in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's Disease on optical coherence tomography angiography. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214685
Vancouver
Zhang YS, Zhou N, Knoll BM, Samra S, Ward MR, Weintraub S, et al. Parafoveal vessel loss and correlation between peripapillary vessel density and cognitive performance in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's Disease on optical coherence tomography angiography. PloS one. 2019. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0214685. PMID: 30939178.
BibTeX
@article{zhang2019-30939178,
author = {Zhang, Y. S. and Zhou, N. and Knoll, B. M. and Samra, S. and Ward, M. R. and Weintraub, S. and Fawzi, A. A.},
title = {{Parafoveal vessel loss and correlation between peripapillary vessel density and cognitive performance in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's Disease on optical coherence tomography angiography}},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0214685},
pmid = {30939178},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214685}
}
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