Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34772450›Full record

ArticleAlzheimer's research & therapy2021

In vivo human molecular neuroimaging of dopaminergic vulnerability along the Alzheimer's disease phases.

Arianna Sala, Silvia Paola Caminiti, Luca Presotto, Andrea Pilotto, Claudio Liguori, Agostino Chiaravalloti, Valentina Garibotto, Giovanni Battista Frisoni, Marcello D'Amelio, Barbara Paghera and 4 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
41citing papers in PubMed
5.2field-weighted citation impact, top 3% 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

41 citing papers in PubMed, 63 citations in OpenAlex.

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  5. Alzheimer's Pathology Enhances Excitatory Synaptic Input and Integration in VTA Dopamine Neurons.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
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  9. The impact of polygenic risk for alzheimer's disease on neurotransmitter-related grey matter atrophy in the alzheimer continuum.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
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  18. Molecular connectivity studies in neurotransmission: a scoping review.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Insular monoaminergic deficits in prodromal α-synucleinopathies.Annals of clinical and translational neurology · 2024
    Article
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

14 authors at 7 institutions in 3 countries.

Arianna Sala *Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, Milan, 20132, Italy.
Silvia Paola Caminiti *Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, Milan, 20132, Italy.
Luca PresottoNuclear Medicine Unit, San Raffaele Hospital, 20132, Milan, Italy.
Andrea PilottoNeurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, 25121, Brescia, Italy.
Claudio LiguoriDivision of Neurology, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133, Rome, Italy.
Agostino ChiaravallotiDepartment of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133, Rome, Italy.
Valentina GaribottoDivision of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Diagnostic Department, University Hospitals of Geneva, and NIMTLab, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland.
Giovanni Battista FrisoniDivision of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Diagnostic Department, University Hospitals of Geneva, and NIMTLab, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland.
Marcello D'AmelioDepartment of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179, Rome, Italy.
Barbara PagheraNuclear Medicine Unit, Spedali Civili Brescia, 25123, Brescia, Italy.
Orazio SchillaciDepartment of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133, Rome, Italy.
Nicola MercuriDivision of Neurology, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133, Rome, Italy.
Alessandro PadovaniNeurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, 25121, Brescia, Italy.
Daniela PeraniVita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, Milan, 20132, Italy. perani.daniela@hsr.it.ORCID 0000-0002-9784-292X
University of Rome Tor Vergata · ITVita-Salute San Raffaele University · ITUniversity Hospital of Geneva · CHAzienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale degli Spedali Civili di Brescia · ITFondazione Europea Ricerca Biomedica · ITUniversità Campus Bio-Medico · ITUniversity of Brescia · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPreclinical and pathology evidence suggests an involvement of brain dopamine (DA) circuitry in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We in vivo investigated if, when, and in which target regions [123I]FP-CIT-SPECT regional binding and molecular connectivity are damaged along the AD course.

methodsWe retrospectively selected 16 amyloid-positive subjects with mild cognitive impairment due to AD (AD-MCI), 22 amyloid-positive patients with probable AD dementia (AD-D), and 74 healthy controls, all with available [123I]FP-CIT-SPECT imaging. We tested whether nigrostriatal vs. mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic targets present binding potential loss, via MANCOVA, and alterations in molecular connectivity, via partial correlation analysis. Results were deemed significant at p < 0.05, after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons.

resultsWe found significant reductions of [123I]FP-CIT binding in both AD-MCI and AD-D compared to controls. Binding reductions were prominent in the major targets of the ventrotegmental-mesocorticolimbic pathway, namely the ventral striatum and the hippocampus, in both clinical groups, and in the cingulate gyrus, in patients with dementia only. Within the nigrostriatal projections, only the dorsal caudate nucleus showed reduced [123I]FP-CIT binding, in both groups. Molecular connectivity assessment revealed a widespread loss of inter-connections among subcortical and cortical targets of the mesocorticolimbic network only (poor overlap with the control group as expressed by a Dice coefficient ≤ 0.25) and no alterations of the nigrostriatal network (high overlap with controls, Dice coefficient = 1).

conclusionLocal- and system-level alterations of the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic circuitry characterize AD, already in prodromal disease phases. These results might foster new therapeutic strategies for AD. The clinical correlates of these findings deserve to be carefully considered within the emergence of both neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive deficits.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseDopamineHumansNeuroimagingRetrospective StudiesTomography, Emission-Computed, Single-PhotonDopamineBiomarkerDopamineMolecular connectivitySubstantia nigraVentral tegmental area

Identifiers

PMID34772450
PMCPMC8588696
OpenAlexW3134824701

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.