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Positron emission tomography in Alzheimer's disease
Duara R, Grady C, Haxby J, Sundaram M, Cutler NR, Heston L, Moore A, Schlageter N et al.. Neurology, 1986-07-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Twenty-one patients with a clinical diagnosis of dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) and 29 healthy, age-matched controls were studied using positron emission tomography (PET) and [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose to measure regional cerebral glucose consumption in the resting state. Reductions in ratio measures of relative metabolism in some parietal, temporal, and frontal regions were found in mild, moderate, and severe DAT groups. A significant increase in right/left metabolic asymmetry, particularly in parietal regions, also was seen in mild and moderate groups. Only in the severely demented patients was the absolute cerebral metabolic rate reduced significantly from control values. Fourteen patients had repeated PET studies, but only those patients with moderate to severe dementia showed a decline in IQ over 6 to 15 months. There were no significant changes in metabolic measures over time. PET is useful in quantifying regional cerebral dysfunction in DAT, even in the early stages of the disease.
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APA 7th
Duara, R., Grady, C., Haxby, J., Sundaram, M., Cutler, N. R., Heston, L., et al. (1986). Positron emission tomography in Alzheimer's disease. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.36.7.879
Vancouver
Duara R, Grady C, Haxby J, Sundaram M, Cutler NR, Heston L, et al. Positron emission tomography in Alzheimer's disease. Neurology. 1986. doi:10.1212/wnl.36.7.879. PMID: 3487046.
BibTeX
@article{duara1986-3487046,
author = {Duara, R. and Grady, C. and Haxby, J. and Sundaram, M. and Cutler, N. R. and Heston, L. and Moore, A. and Schlageter, N. and others},
title = {{Positron emission tomography in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {1986},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.36.7.879},
pmid = {3487046},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.36.7.879}
}
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Key findings
- A significant increase in right/left metabolic asymmetry, particularly in parietal regions, also was seen in mild and moderate groups.
- Only in the severely demented patients was the absolute cerebral metabolic rate reduced significantly from control values.
- There were no significant changes in metabolic measures over time.
Why it matters
PET scans showed reduced metabolism in certain brain regions and increased right-left differences even in mild Alzheimer's disease, but these metabolic measures did not change over time in followed patients. This means PET can help show regional brain dysfunction early, but it did not track worsening of the disease in this study.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 53/100
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 | 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 | 1986 — 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 568 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 13.5 citations a year over 42 year(s) since 1986 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 27.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 17 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 7 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author С. И. Рапопорт: h-index 67 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | National Institutes of Health: institution h-index 2,723 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 3487046) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
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