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.

54/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 54 out of 100. Mild cognitive impairment

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Plain-language summary

The current review summarizes the current knowledge on longitudinal cortical and subcortical grey and white matter MRI findings assessed using T1-weighted and one-tensor diffusion-weighted MRI in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Results were reviewed according to disease duration, disease severity and cognitive impairment. The most consistent findings are those showing a progressive cortical atrophy accumulation in caudate, putamen, temporal/hippocampal, frontal and parietal areas in de novo PD cases and in the early/middle phase of the disease, with the achievement of a plateau in the later stage. Analyzing results according to the patient cognitive status, only a few studies used longitudinal MRI metrics to predict mild cognitive impairment or dementia conversion in PD patients, suggesting that atrophy of the hippocampus, fronto-temporal areas, caudate, thalamus and accumbens might play a role in this process. Stratifying patients according to disease severity, findings appear partially controversial, although showing a progressive atrophy of basal ganglia over 1 year of follow up and a widespread cortical thinning over 3-6 years in mild to moderate PD patients. Finally, microstructural damage of the main motor and associative WM tracts seems to be present, and rapidly progress, even in the early phase of PD. The utility of structural MRI metrics as biomarkers of PD progression and their role in improving the accuracy of disease progression prediction is still debated.

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

APA 7th

Sarasso, E., Agosta, F., Piramide, N., & Filippi, M. (2021). Progression of grey and white matter brain damage in Parkinson's disease: a critical review of structural MRI literature. Journal of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-020-09863-8

Vancouver

Sarasso E, Agosta F, Piramide N, Filippi M. Progression of grey and white matter brain damage in Parkinson's disease: a critical review of structural MRI literature. Journal of neurology. 2021. doi:10.1007/s00415-020-09863-8. PMID: 32378035.

BibTeX

@article{sarasso2021-32378035,
  author  = {Sarasso, E. and Agosta, F. and Piramide, N. and Filippi, M.},
  title   = {{Progression of grey and white matter brain damage in Parkinson's disease: a critical review of structural MRI literature}},
  journal = {Journal of neurology},
  year    = {2021},
  doi     = {10.1007/s00415-020-09863-8},
  pmid    = {32378035},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-020-09863-8}
}

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

How to read this study

Design: this is a follow-up (cohort) study. People are observed over time and not assigned to anything, so an association can reflect other differences between groups. Look at how long follow-up lasted, how many dropped out, and whether the authors adjusted for age, education and other health conditions.
Size: the record gives no participant count. Look for one in the original before trusting a pattern.
Effect: the record gives no effect size, so the summary above cannot say how large any difference was.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded moderate. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Moderate means the abstract mentions a cohort, case-control or longitudinal design. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

New to reading papers? Six questions to ask of any Alzheimer’s study · how we score.

Key findings

Results were reviewed according to disease duration, disease severity and cognitive impairment.
Analyzing results according to the patient cognitive status, only a few studies used longitudinal MRI metrics to predict mild cognitive impairment or dementia conversion in PD patients, suggesting that atrophy of the hippocampus, fronto-temporal areas, caudate, thalamus and accumbens might play a role in this process.

Why it matters

This review of MRI studies in Parkinson's disease describes progressive brain atrophy and notes that only a few studies used MRI to predict cognitive impairment or dementia conversion. It concerns Parkinson's disease and reports no treatment or prevention results.

Study details

Study designlongitudinal study
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 54/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of neurology)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	Journal of Neurology: journal h-index 208 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	7 / 12	A longitudinal study following the same people over time
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	3 / 5	2021 — within 6 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	5 / 7	Cited 116 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	16.6 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 5.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	0 / 6	No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited	3 / 4	Cited 54 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Massimo Filippi: h-index 156 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele: institution h-index 731 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32378035)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	54 / 100	—

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

Read the original

May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.

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.

Related studies in Mild cognitive impairment from nearby years

Also tagged “lewy”

1,017 studies in the library carry the topic tag “lewy”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,017 tagged studies.

Studies sharing this one's topic tags

Similar studies

More on Mild cognitive impairment

See all studies in Mild cognitive impairment →