Evidence map›Paper›PMID 18949462›Full record

ArticlePsychopharmacology2009

Galantamine-induced improvements in cognitive function are not related to alterations in alpha(4)beta (2) nicotinic receptors in early Alzheimer's disease as measured in vivo by 2-[18F]fluoro-A-85380 PET.

J R Ellis, P J Nathan, V L Villemagne, R S Mulligan, T Saunder, K Young, C L Smith, J Welch, M Woodward, K A Wesnes and 2 more

Abstract read
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Article in Psychopharmacology, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Reduction in [Brain research · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Brain imaging of nicotinic receptors in Alzheimer's disease.International journal of Alzheimer's disease · 2010
    Article
  8. The use of PET in Alzheimer disease.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2010
    Review
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

J R EllisSchool of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Psychological Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ellis@petnm.unimelb.edu.au
P J Nathan
V L Villemagne
R S Mulligan
T Saunder
K Young
C L Smith
J Welch
M Woodward
K A Wesnes
G Savage
C C Rowe
Austin Health · AUMacquarie University · AUMonash University · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) system plays a regulatory role in a number of cognitive processes. Cholinesterase inhibitors (i.e., galantamine) that potentiate cholinergic neurotransmission improve cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, the relationship between these effects and associated changes in nAChRs are yet to be established in vivo. MATERIALS AND

methods2-[18F]Fluoro-A-85380 (2-FA) binds to nAChRs and with positron emission tomography (PET) imaging provides a composite measure of receptor density and ligand affinity. This study aimed to: (1) quantify nAChRs in vivo in 15 drug-naïve patients with mild AD before and after chronic treatment with galantamine, using 2-FA and PET, and (2) examine the relationship between treatment-induced changes in nAChRs and improvements in cognitive function. Participants were nonsmokers and underwent extensive cognitive testing and a PET scan after injection of approximately 200 MBq of 2-FA on two occasions (before and after 12 weeks, galantamine treatment). A 3-day washout period preceded the second scan. Brain regional 2-FA binding was assessed through a simplified estimation of distribution volume (DV(S)).

resultsPerformance on global measures of cognition significantly improved following galantamine treatment (p < 0.05). This improvement extended to specific cognitive measures of language and verbal learning. No significant differences in nAChR DV(S) before and after galantamine treatment were found. The treatment-induced improvement in cognition was not correlated with regional or global nAChR DV(S), suggesting that changes in nAChRs may not be responsible for the improvements in cognition following galantamine in patients with mild AD.

Indexed as

AzetidinesPyridinesAgedAlzheimer DiseaseArousalCognitionFemaleFluorine RadioisotopesGalantamineHumansImage Processing, Computer-AssistedMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleNeuropsychological TestsNootropic AgentsPositron-Emission Tomography2-fluoro-3-(2-azetidinylmethoxy)pyridineAzetidinesFluorine RadioisotopesGalantaminenicotinic receptor alpha4beta2Nootropic AgentsPyridinesRadiopharmaceuticalsReceptors, Nicotinic

Identifiers

PMID18949462
OpenAlexW2000645624

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.