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The overlap of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia
Lomen-Hoerth C, Anderson T, Miller B.. Neurology, 2002-10-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) with no known diagnosis of ALS or family history of ALS were clinically and electrophysiologically assessed for the presence of ALS. Of 36 patients studied, five met criteria for a definite diagnosis of ALS and two had EMG findings suggestive of denervation in one limb. An additional five patients had prominent fasciculations and six other patients had trouble swallowing but all had normal results on EMG studies. One of the patients with fasciculations and a normal EMG study progressed to definite ALS over the course of 1 year.
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APA 7th
Lomen-Hoerth, C., Anderson, T., & Miller, B. (2002). The overlap of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.59.7.1077
Vancouver
Lomen-Hoerth C, Anderson T, Miller B. The overlap of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. Neurology. 2002. doi:10.1212/wnl.59.7.1077. PMID: 12370467.
BibTeX
@article{lomenhoerth2002-12370467,
author = {Lomen-Hoerth, C. and Anderson, T. and Miller, B.},
title = {{The overlap of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.59.7.1077},
pmid = {12370467},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.59.7.1077}
}
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Key findings
- An additional five patients had prominent fasciculations and six other patients had trouble swallowing but all had normal results on EMG studies.
Why it matters
Among 36 people with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) who had no known ALS and no family history of it, five met criteria for definite ALS when examined clinically and with EMG nerve-muscle testing, and two more had EMG signs of denervation in one limb. Another five had prominent muscle twitching (fasciculations) and six had trouble swallowing, all with normal EMG, and one of the twitching patients progressed to definite ALS within a year. This small study is about FTD and ALS rather than Alzheimer's disease, and it did not test any treatment.
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Study details
- Participants36
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / 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 | 2002 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 36 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 703 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 27.0 citations a year over 26 year(s) since 2002 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 8.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 45 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 50 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Bruce L. Miller: h-index 198 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, Los Angeles: institution h-index 1,923 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 12370467) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
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