Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33646146›Full record

Trial reportJournal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD2021

Low Doses of Ionizing Radiation as a Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease: A Pilot Study.

Jerry M Cuttler, Eslam Abdellah, Yael Goldberg, Sarmad Al-Shamaa, Sean P Symons, Sandra E Black, Morris Freedman

Open access · bronzeAbstract readClinical Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
33citing papers in PubMed
4.4field-weighted citation impact, top 5% 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

33 citing papers in PubMed, 41 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Low-Dose Non-Targeted Effects and Mitochondrial Control.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023
    Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Review
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

7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Jerry M CuttlerCuttler & Associates, Vaughan, ON, Canada.
Eslam AbdellahBaycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Yael GoldbergBaycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Sarmad Al-ShamaaBaycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Sean P SymonsDepartments of Medical Imaging and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Sandra E BlackHurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Morris FreedmanBaycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Baycrest Hospital · CASunnybrook Health Science Centre · CAMount Sinai Hospital · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn 2015, a patient in hospice with Alzheimer's disease (AD) was treated with ionizing radiation to her brain using repeated CT scans. Improvement in cognition, speech, movement, and appetite was observed. These improvements were so momentous that she was discharged from the hospice to a long-term care home. Based on this case, we conducted a pilot clinical trial to examine the effect of low-dose ionizing radiation (LDIR) in severe AD.

objectiveTo determine whether the previously reported benefits of LDIR in a single case with AD could be observed again in other cases with AD when the same treatments are given.

methodsIn this single-arm study, four patients were treated with three consecutive treatments of LDIR, each spaced two weeks apart. Qualitative changes in communication and behavior with close relatives were observed and recorded. Quantitative measures of cognition and behavior were administered pre and post LDIR treatments.

resultsMinor improvements on quantitative measures were noted in three of the four patients following treatment. However, the qualitative observations of cognition and behavior suggested remarkable improvements within days post-treatment, including greater overall alertness. One patient showed no change.

conclusionLDIR may be a promising, albeit controversial therapy for AD. Trials of patients with less severe AD, double-blind and placebo-controlled, should be carried out to determine the benefits of LDIR. Quantitative measures are needed that are sensitive to the remarkable changes induced by LDIR, such as biological markers of oxidative stress that are associated with AD.

Indexed as

Aged, 80 and overAlzheimer DiseaseCranial IrradiationFemaleHumansMalePilot ProjectsRadiation, IonizingAdaptive protection systemsAlzheimer’s diseaselow-dose ionizing radiationoxidative damagetherapy

Identifiers

PMID33646146
PMCPMC8150498
OpenAlexW3132094400

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.