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Use of structural magnetic resonance imaging to predict who will get Alzheimer's disease
Killiany RJ, Gomez-Isla T, Moss M, Kikinis R, Sandor T, Jolesz F, Tanzi R, Jones K et al.. Annals of neurology, 2000-04-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
We used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements to determine whether persons in the prodromal phase of Alzheimer's disease (AD) could be accurately identified before they developed clinically diagnosed dementia. Normal subjects (n = 24) and those with mild memory difficulty (n = 79) received an MRI scan at baseline and were then followed annually for 3 years to determine which individuals subsequently met clinical criteria for AD. Patients with mild AD at baseline were also evaluated (n = 16). Nineteen of the 79 subjects with mild memory difficulty "converted" to a diagnosis of probable AD after 3 years of follow-up. Baseline MRI measures of the entorhinal cortex, the banks of the superior temporal sulcus, and the anterior cingulate were most useful in discriminating the status of the subjects on follow-up examination. The accuracy of discrimination was related to the clinical similarity between groups. One hundred percent (100%) of normal subjects and patients with mild AD could be discriminated from one another based on these MRI measures. When the normals were compared with the individuals with memory impairments who ultimately developed AD (the converters), the accuracy of discrimination was 93%, based on the MRI measures at baseline (sensitivity = 0.95; specificity = 0.90). The discrimination of the normal subjects and the individuals with mild memory problems who did not progress to the point where they met clinical criteria for probable AD over the 3 years of follow-up (the "questionables") was 85% and the discrimination of the questionables and converters was 75%. The apolipoprotein E genotype did not improve the accuracy of discrimination. The specific regions selected for each of these discriminations provides information concerning the hierarchical fashion in which the pathology of AD may affect the brain during its prodromal phase.
Key findings
- When the normals were compared with the individuals with memory impairments who ultimately developed AD (the converters), the accuracy of discrimination was 93%, based on the MRI measures at baseline (sensitivity = 0.95; specificity = 0.90).
Why it matters
In this study, 79 subjects with mild memory difficulty received a baseline MRI and were followed for 3 years, during which 19 converted to a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease; baseline MRI measures of the entorhinal cortex, banks of the superior temporal sulcus and anterior cingulate were most useful in discriminating who converted, with 93% accuracy, sensitivity 0.95 and specificity 0.90. This concerns predicting who will develop Alzheimer's disease using imaging, not treating, curing or preventing it.
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Study details
- Participants24
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Annals of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Annals of Neurology: journal h-index 437 (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 | 2000 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 24 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 656 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 23.4 citations a year over 28 year(s) since 2000 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 27.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 68 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 29 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Marilyn Albert: h-index 89 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 10762153) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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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's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Killiany, R. J., Gomez-Isla, T., Moss, M., Kikinis, R., Sandor, T., Jolesz, F., et al. (2000). Use of structural magnetic resonance imaging to predict who will get Alzheimer's disease. Annals of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1002/1531-8249(200004)47:4<430::aid-ana5>3.0.co;2-i
Vancouver
Killiany RJ, Gomez-Isla T, Moss M, Kikinis R, Sandor T, Jolesz F, et al. Use of structural magnetic resonance imaging to predict who will get Alzheimer's disease. Annals of neurology. 2000. doi:10.1002/1531-8249(200004)47:4<430::aid-ana5>3.0.co;2-i. PMID: 10762153.
BibTeX
@article{killiany2000-10762153,
author = {Killiany, R. J. and Gomez-Isla, T. and Moss, M. and Kikinis, R. and Sandor, T. and Jolesz, F. and Tanzi, R. and Jones, K. and others},
title = {{Use of structural magnetic resonance imaging to predict who will get Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Annals of neurology},
year = {2000},
doi = {10.1002/1531-8249(200004)47:4<430::aid-ana5>3.0.co;2-i},
pmid = {10762153},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/1531-8249(200004)47:4<430::aid-ana5>3.0.co;2-i}
}
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