Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34233060›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of neurology2021

Early diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis by threshold tracking and conventional transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Hatice Tankisi, Christina S-Z Nielsen, James Howells, Bülent Cengiz, Gintaute Samusyte, Martin Koltzenburg, Jakob U Blicher, Anette T Møller, Kirsten Pugdahl, Anders Fuglsang-Frederiksen and 2 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of neurology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 11% 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

24 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.

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  14. Molecular hallmarks of ageing in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2024
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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

12 authors at 7 institutions in 7 countries.

Hatice TankisiDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0001-8495-9769
Christina S-Z NielsenDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
James HowellsCentral Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Bülent CengizDepartment of Neurology, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.ORCID 0000-0002-1688-9516
Gintaute SamusyteDepartment of Neurology, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Martin KoltzenburgDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK.
Jakob U BlicherDepartment of Neurology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Anette T MøllerDepartment of Neurology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Kirsten PugdahlDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Anders Fuglsang-FrederiksenDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Mamede de CarvalhoInstituto de Fisiologia, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Univeridade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
Hugh BostockDepartment of Neuromuscular Diseases, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
Aarhus University Hospital · DKNational Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery · GBAarhus University · DKGazi University · TRLithuanian University of Health Sciences · LTThe University of Sydney · AUUniversity of Lisbon · PT

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/K015222/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

background and purposeShort-interval intracortical inhibition by threshold tracking (T-SICI) has been proposed as a diagnostic tool for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) but has not been compared directly with conventional amplitude measurements (A-SICI). This study compared A-SICI and T-SICI for sensitivity and clinical usefulness as biomarkers for ALS.

methodsIn all, 104 consecutive patients referred with suspicion of ALS were prospectively included and were subsequently divided into 62 patients with motor neuron disease (MND) and 42 patient controls (ALS mimics) by clinical follow-up. T-SICI and A-SICI recorded in the first dorsal interosseus muscle (index test) were compared with recordings from 53 age-matched healthy controls. The reference standard was the Awaji criteria. Clinical scorings, conventional nerve conduction studies and electromyography were also performed on the patients.

resultsMotor neuron disease patients had significantly reduced T-SICI and A-SICI compared with the healthy and patient control groups, which were similar. Sensitivity and specificity for discriminating MND patients from patient controls were high (areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves 0.762 and 0.810 for T-SICI and A-SICI respectively at 1-3.5 ms). Paradoxically, T-SICI was most reduced in MND patients with the fewest upper motor neuron (UMN) signs (Spearman ρ = 0.565, p = 4.3 × 10

conclusionsAmplitude-based measure of cortical inhibition and T-SICI are both sensitive measures for the detection of cortical involvement in MND patients and may help early diagnosis of ALS, with T-SICI most abnormal before UMN signs have developed. The gradation in T-SICI from pathological facilitation in patients with minimal UMN signs to inhibition in those with the most UMN signs may be due to progressive degeneration of the subset of UMNs experiencing facilitation.

Indexed as

Amyotrophic Lateral SclerosisMotor Neuron DiseaseEarly DiagnosisElectromyographyEvoked Potentials, MotorHumansTranscranial Magnetic Stimulationamyotrophic lateral sclerosisconventional TMSshort-interval intracortical inhibitionthreshold tracking TMStranscranial magnetic stimulation

Identifiers

PMID34233060
PMCPMC9291110
OpenAlexW3182672576

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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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.