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59/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 59 out of 100. Digital health tools

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Plain-language summary

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration is currently associated with three syndromic variants. Disorders of speech and language figure prominently in two of the three variants, and are associated with left-sided frontotemporal atrophy. The detailed characterization of these syndromes contrasts with the relative paucity of information relating to frontotemporal lobar degeneration primarily affecting the right cerebral hemisphere. The objective of this study was to identify the clinical profile associated with asymmetrical, predominantly right-sided, temporal lobe atrophy. Twenty patients with predominant right temporal lobe atrophy were identified on the basis of blinded visual assessment of the MRI scans. The severity of right temporal lobe atrophy was quantified using volumetric analysis of the whole temporal lobes, the amygdala and the hippocampus. Profiles of cognitive function, behavioural and personality changes were obtained on each patient. The pattern of atrophy and the clinical features were compared with those observed in a group of patients with semantic dementia and predominant left-sided temporal lobe atrophy. The mean right temporal lobe volume in the right temporal lobe atrophy group was reduced by 37%, with the mean left temporal lobe volume reduced by 19%. There was marked atrophy of the right hippocampus and right amygdala, with mean volumes reduced by 41 and 51%, respectively (left hippocampus and amygdala volumes were reduced by 18 and 33%, respectively). The most prominent cognitive deficits were impairment of episodic memory and getting lost. Prosopagnosia was a symptom in right temporal lobe atrophy patients. These patients also exhibited a variety of behavioural symptoms including social disinhibition, depression and aggressive behaviour. Nearly all behavioural disorders were more prevalent in the right temporal lobe atrophy patient group than the semantic dementia group. Symptoms particular to the right temporal lobe atrophy patient group included hyper-religiosity, visual hallucinations and cross-modal sensory experiences. The combination of clinical features associated with predominant right temporal lobe atrophy differs significantly from those associated with the other syndromes associated with focal degeneration of the frontal and temporal lobes and it is, therefore, proposed that this right temporal variant should be considered a separate syndromic variant of frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Low

This study identified 20 patients with predominant right temporal lobe atrophy and characterized their clinical profile, comparing them with patients with left-sided temporal atrophy. Reported effect size: reduced by 37%; reduced by 19%.

Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.

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

APA 7th

Chan, D., Anderson, V., Pijnenburg, Y., Whitwell, J., Barnes, J., Scahill, R., et al. (2009). The clinical profile of right temporal lobe atrophy. Brain : a journal of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awp037

Vancouver

Chan D, Anderson V, Pijnenburg Y, Whitwell J, Barnes J, Scahill R, et al. The clinical profile of right temporal lobe atrophy. Brain : a journal of neurology. 2009. doi:10.1093/brain/awp037. PMID: 19297506.

BibTeX

@article{chan2009-19297506,
  author  = {Chan, D. and Anderson, V. and Pijnenburg, Y. and Whitwell, J. and Barnes, J. and Scahill, R. and Stevens, J. M. and Barkhof, F. and others},
  title   = {{The clinical profile of right temporal lobe atrophy}},
  journal = {Brain : a journal of neurology},
  year    = {2009},
  doi     = {10.1093/brain/awp037},
  pmid    = {19297506},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awp037}
}

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.

How to read this study

Design: our record does not state a study design, so check the methods section of the original before weighing the result.
Size: the record gives no participant count. Look for one in the original before trusting a pattern.
Effect: the record reports “reduced by 37%; reduced by 19%”. A statistically significant result can still be small in daily life.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded low. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Low means the abstract matched neither pattern. It is the default label, and it does not mean the work is poor; many sound lab and imaging papers land here. 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.

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Key findings

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration is currently associated with three syndromic variants.
Disorders of speech and language figure prominently in two of the three variants, and are associated with left-sided frontotemporal atrophy.
The objective of this study was to identify the clinical profile associated with asymmetrical, predominantly right-sided, temporal lobe atrophy.
The pattern of atrophy and the clinical features were compared with those observed in a group of patients with semantic dementia and predominant left-sided temporal lobe atrophy.
The combination of clinical features associated with predominant right temporal lobe atrophy differs significantly from those associated with the other syndromes associated with focal degeneration of the frontal and temporal lobes and it is, therefore, proposed that this right temporal variant should be considered a separate syndromic variant of frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

Why it matters

This study identified 20 patients with predominant right temporal lobe atrophy and characterized their clinical profile, comparing them with patients with left-sided temporal atrophy. It describes the clinical features of this condition and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.

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Study details

Effect sizereduced by 37%; reduced by 19%
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 59/100

Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size and randomized / 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	2 / 3	Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	6 / 7	Cited 382 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	4 / 5	20.1 citations a year over 19 year(s) since 2009
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 7.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	3 / 6	Cited by 13 other studies in this library
Still being cited	3 / 4	Cited 53 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Nick C. Fox: h-index 173 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Imperial College London: institution h-index 1,744 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 19297506)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	59 / 100	—

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