SynthesisPloS one2020
The impact of brain iron accumulation on cognition: A systematic review.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.
- Iron accumulation in multiple sclerosis and implications for cognitive and clinical progression: a systematic review of advanced neuroimaging studies.Journal of neurology · 2026Pooled it
- Mechanisms and Pathogenesis of Diabetic Cognitive Impairment: A Comprehensive Review.Aging and disease · 2025Pooled it
- Putamen iron quantification in diseases with neurodegeneration: a meta-analysis of the quantitative susceptibility mapping technique.Brain imaging and behavior · 2024Pooled it
- The Changes of Blood and CSF Ion Levels in Depressed Patients: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Molecular neurobiology · 2024Pooled it
- Iron dysregulation in the central nervous system: implications for autism spectrum disorder.Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine · 2026Review
- Iron Adequacy Modifies the Association Between Prenatal Diet Quality and Pregnancy-Related Anxiety in Pregnant Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.Food science & nutrition · 2026Article
- Differential Effects of Cannabidiol and Cannabigerol on Cognition, Neuroinflammation, and Blood-Brain Barrier Integrity in a Rat Model of Iron Overload.Neurotoxicity research · 2026Article
- Quantitative MRI Susceptibility: Mapping of Transient Ischemic Attack-A Preliminary Study.Journal of imaging · 2026Article
- Roles of Microglia in Cerebral Small Vessel Disease.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Review
- Visual field inhomogeneities and the architectonics of early visual cortex shape visual working memory.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2026Article
- Iron-induced Oxidative Stress and Anxiety-like Behavior in Wistar Rats Following Systemic Iron Administration.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Association Between Mineral Intake and Cognitive Performance in Spanish Adults with Overweight and Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Perivascular fluid clearance links choroid plexus changes to cognitive performance in cerebral small vessel disease.Brain informatics · 2026Article
- Insights From Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping: An Umbrella Review of Multiple Sclerosis.Health science reports · 2026Review
- Heterogeneous Deep Gray Matter Iron Deposition Patterns across Multiple Sclerosis Subgroups Defined by the Clinico-Radiological Paradox.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026Article
- Brain Iron as a Surrogate Biomarker of Pathological TDP-43 Identifies Brain Region-Specific Signatures in Ageing, Alzheimer's Disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Association between deep gray matter iron deposition, white matter hyperintensity, and hypertensive cognitive impairment.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2025Article
- Exploring Iron Deposition Patterns Using Light and Electron Microscopy in the Mouse Brain Across Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Pathology Conditions.Journal of neurochemistry · 2025Article
- Associations Between Cortical Iron Accumulation and Memory in Patients With Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and in Cognitively Normal Individuals.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- Quantitative susceptibility mapping study of deep gray matter iron content in glioma patients.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Iron is involved in many processes in the brain including, myelin generation, mitochondrial function, synthesis of ATP and DNA and the cycling of neurotransmitters. Disruption of normal iron homeostasis can result in iron accumulation in the brain, which in turn can partake in interactions which amplify oxidative damage. The development of MRI techniques for quantifying brain iron has allowed for the characterisation of the impact that brain iron has on cognition and neurodegeneration. This review uses a systematic approach to collate and evaluate the current literature which explores the relationship between brain iron and cognition. The following databases were searched in keeping with a predetermined inclusion criterion: Embase Ovid, PubMed and PsychInfo (from inception to 31st March 2020). The included studies were assessed for study characteristics and quality and their results were extracted and summarised. This review identified 41 human studies of varying design, which statistically assessed the relationship between brain iron and cognition. The most consistently reported interactions were in the Caudate nuclei, where increasing iron correlated poorer memory and general cognitive performance in adulthood. There were also consistent reports of a correlation between increased Hippocampal and Thalamic iron and poorer memory performance, as well as, between iron in the Putamen and Globus Pallidus and general cognition. We conclude that there is consistent evidence that brain iron is detrimental to cognitive health, however, more longitudinal studies will be required to fully understand this relationship and to determine whether iron occurs as a primary cause or secondary effect of cognitive decline.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.