Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33730775›Full record

ArticleUltrasonography (Seoul, Korea)2021

A pilot clinical study of low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound in Alzheimer's disease.

Hyeonseok Jeong, Jooyeon Jamie Im, Jong-Sik Park, Seung-Hee Na, Wonhye Lee, Seung-Schik Yoo, In-Uk Song, Yong-An Chung

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

Article in Ultrasonography (Seoul, Korea), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
44citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
4.6field-weighted citation impact, top 4% 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

44 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 81 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Hyeonseok JeongDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Incheon St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Jooyeon Jamie ImDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Incheon St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Jong-Sik ParkDepartment of Neurology, Incheon St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Seung-Hee NaDepartment of Neurology, Incheon St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Wonhye LeeDepartment of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Seung-Schik YooDepartment of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
In-Uk SongDepartment of Neurology, Incheon St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Yong-An ChungDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Incheon St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
The Catholic University of Korea Incheon St. Mary's Hospital · KRBrigham and Women's Hospital · US

Funding

Incheon St. Mary's Hospital, the Catholic University of KoreaKorea Dementia Research Center HU21C0081Korea Health Industry Development InstituteNational Research Foundation of Korea 2020R1C1C1007254Neurosona Co., Ltd.
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeIncreasing attention has been paid to low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) for its potential therapeutic effects in Alzheimer's disease (AD). While preclinical studies have shown promising therapeutic effects of low-intensity tFUS in AD models, its efficacy and safety remain unclear in humans. In this pilot study, we investigated the effects of low-intensity tFUS on blood-brain barrier opening, the regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (rCMRglu), and cognition in patients with AD.

methodsAfter receiving institutional review board approval, four patients with AD received tFUS to the hippocampus immediately after an intravenous injection of a microbubble ultrasound contrast agent. Sonication was delivered at low-intensity, at a pressure level below the threshold for blood-brain barrier opening. Patients underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging, 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography, and neuropsychological assessments before and after the tFUS procedure. A whole-brain voxel-wise paired t test was conducted to compare rCMRglu before and after tFUS.

resultsThe sonication, as anticipated, did not show evidence of active blood-brain barrier opening on T1 dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. rCMRglu in the superior frontal gyrus (P<0.001), middle cingulate gyrus (P<0.001), and fusiform gyrus increased after tFUS (P=0.001). Patients demonstrated mild improvement in measures of memory, executive, and global cognitive function following tFUS. No adverse events were reported.

conclusionThese results suggest that hippocampal sonication with low-intensity tFUS may have beneficial effects on cerebral glucose metabolism and cognitive function in patients with AD. Further larger studies are needed to confirm the therapeutic efficacy of tFUS in AD.

Indexed as

Alzheimer’s diseaseCognitive functionLow-intensity transcranial focused ultrasoundRegional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose

Identifiers

PMID33730775
PMCPMC8446491
OpenAlexW3120475742

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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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.