Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24624329›Full record

ReviewNeuroImage. Clinical2014

Lessons of ALS imaging: Pitfalls and future directions - A critical review.

Peter Bede, Orla Hardiman

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in NeuroImage. Clinical, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
55citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

55 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Potential Roles of Neuroimaging in Motor Neuron Disease.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2026
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Cerebellar ataxia-onset ALS withFrontiers in neurology · 2026
    Article
  8. Review
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  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
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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

2 authors.

Peter BedeAcademic Unit of Neurology, Trinity College Dublin, Room 5.43, Biomedical Sciences Building, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Orla HardimanAcademic Unit of Neurology, Trinity College Dublin, Room 5.43, Biomedical Sciences Building, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhile neuroimaging in ALS has gained unprecedented momentum in recent years, little progress has been made in the development of viable diagnostic, prognostic and monitoring markers.

objectivesTo identify and discuss the common pitfalls in ALS imaging studies and to reflect on optimal study designs based on pioneering studies.

methodsA "PubMed"-based literature search on ALS was performed based on neuroimaging-related keywords. Study limitations were systematically reviewed and classified so that stereotypical trends could be identified.

resultsCommon shortcomings, such as relatively small sample sizes, statistically underpowered study designs, lack of disease controls, poorly characterised patient cohorts and a large number of conflicting studies, remain a significant challenge to the field. Imaging data of ALS continue to be interpreted at a group-level, as opposed to meaningful individual-patient inferences.

conclusionsA systematic, critical review of ALS imaging has identified stereotypical shortcomings, the lessons of which should be considered in the design of future prospective MRI studies. At a time when large multicentre studies are underway a candid discussion of these factors is particularly timely.

Indexed as

ArtifactsAmyotrophic Lateral SclerosisBrainForecastingHumansImage EnhancementNeuroimagingRadionuclide ImagingResearch DesignSample SizeAD, axial diffusivityAmyotrophic lateral sclerosisBiomarkerC9orf72, chromosome 9 open reading frame 72DTI, diffusion tensor imagingFA, fractional anisotropyMD, mean diffusivityMEG, magnetoencephalographyMRIMRS, magnetic resonance spectroscopyMUNE, motor unit number estimationPETPET, positron emission tomographyPNS, peripheral nervous systemRD, radial diffusivityROI, region of interestSpectroscopySPECT, single photon emission computed tomographyTMS, transcranial magnetic stimulationVBM, voxel-based morphometry

Identifiers

PMID24624329
PMCPMC3950559

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.