Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32859258›Full record

ArticleBiology of sex differences2020

Sex differences in brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis.

Rhonda R Voskuhl, Kevin Patel, Friedemann Paul, Stefan M Gold, Michael Scheel, Joseph Kuchling, Graham Cooper, Susanna Asseyer, Claudia Chien, Alexander U Brandt and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Biology of sex differences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
64citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
8.0field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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

64 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 96 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Sex and gender-related differences in neurological diseases: current challenges and recommendations for clinical practice.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
    Review
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Observational
  13. Sex-chromosome complement and Activin-A shape the therapeutic potential of TNFR2 activation in a model of MS and CNP.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Upper cervical spinal cord atrophy in MS: Sex, menopause, and neurodegeneration.Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2025
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review

4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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.

Rhonda R VoskuhlDepartment of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, 635 Charles E. Young Drive South, Gordon Neuroscience Research Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. rvoskuhl@mednet.ucla.edu.ORCID 0000-0003-2620-4346
Kevin PatelDepartment of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, 635 Charles E. Young Drive South, Gordon Neuroscience Research Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Friedemann PaulExperimental and Clinical Research Center, Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Stefan M GoldInstitute for Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis (INIMS), Center for Molecular Neurobiology, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Michael ScheelInstitute of Neuroradiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Joseph KuchlingExperimental and Clinical Research Center, Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Graham CooperExperimental and Clinical Research Center, Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Susanna AsseyerExperimental and Clinical Research Center, Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Claudia ChienExperimental and Clinical Research Center, Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Alexander U BrandtNeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Cassandra Eve MeyerDepartment of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, 635 Charles E. Young Drive South, Gordon Neuroscience Research Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Allan MacKenzie-GrahamDepartment of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, 635 Charles E. Young Drive South, Gordon Neuroscience Research Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin · DEUniversity of California, Los Angeles · USUniversität Hamburg · DE

Funding

Neuroprotection in MS: A Cell-Specific and Region-Specific Transcriptomics ApproachR01NS109670 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI VOSKUHL, RHONDA R · 2018 to 2022
$2.2M
AN INFORMATICS FACILITY FOR NEUROIMAGINGC06RR015431 · NCRR · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI TOGA, ARTHUR W · 2000 to 2000
$2.0M
Parental imprinting of the X chromosome: effects on neurodegenerationR01NS096748 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI VOSKUHL, RHONDA R · 2016 to 2020
$1.9M
Bringing CLARITY to EAER01NS086981 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI MACKENZIE-GRAHAM, ALLAN JAMES · 2015 to 2018
$1.3M
High Capacity Storage System for Computational BiologyS10OD011939 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI WOODS, ROGER P · 2012 to 2012
$598k
EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH FACILITIES CONSTRUCTIONC06RR012169 · NCRR · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI MAZZIOTTA, JOHN C · 1996 to 1997
–
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation 18394Conrad N. Hilton Foundation (US) 17734National Multiple Sclerosis Society PP-1805-31001NCRR NIH HHS C06 RR012169NCRR NIH HHS C06 RR015431NIH HHS S10 OD011939NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS086981NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS096748NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS109670
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWomen are more susceptible to multiple sclerosis (MS) than men by a ratio of approximately 3:1. However, being male is a risk factor for worse disability progression. Inflammatory genes have been linked to susceptibility, while neurodegeneration underlies disability progression. Thus, there appears to be a differential effect of sex on inflammation versus neurodegeneration. Further, gray matter (GM) atrophy is not uniform across the brain in MS, but instead shows regional variation. Here, we study sex differences in neurodegeneration by comparing regional GM atrophy in a cohort of men and women with MS versus their respective age- and sex-matched healthy controls.

methodsVoxel-based morphometry (VBM), deep GM substructure volumetry, and cortical thinning were used to examine regional GM atrophy.

resultsVBM analysis showed deep GM atrophy in the thalamic area in both men and women with MS, whereas men had additional atrophy in the putamen as well as in localized cortical regions. Volumetry confirmed deep GM loss, while localized cortical thinning confirmed GM loss in the cerebral cortex. Further, MS males exhibited worse performance on the 9-hole peg test (9HPT) than MS females. We observed a strong correlation between thalamic volume and 9HPT performance in MS males, but not in MS females.

conclusionMore regional GM atrophy was observed in men with MS than women with MS, consistent with previous observations that male sex is a risk factor for worse disease progression.

Indexed as

AdultAtrophyBrain DiseasesCase-Control StudiesFemaleGenotypeHumansMaleMiddle AgedMultiple SclerosisSex FactorsDisability progressionMultiple sclerosisNeurodegenerationNeuroimagingSex differences

Identifiers

PMID32859258
PMCPMC7456053
OpenAlexW3082051765

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.