Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37413772›Full record

ArticleNeuroImage. Clinical2023

White matter microstructure and serum biomarkers of inflammation in psychogenic non-epileptic seizures.

Christina Mueller, Jerzy P Szaflarski

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in NeuroImage. Clinical, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 39% 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

8 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Imaging biomarkers in functional neurological disorders.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2026
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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

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Christina MuellerDepartment of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Heersink School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA. Electronic address: cm1@uab.edu.
Jerzy P SzaflarskiDepartment of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Heersink School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA; Departments of Neurobiology and Neurosurgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Heersink School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA. Electronic address: jszaflarski@uabmc.edu.
University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNeuroinflammation may contribute to the pathophysiology of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES). However, it is unclear whether and to what degree comorbid psychiatric symptoms explain this association. In this study, we investigated the neuroinflammatory signature of PNES and how it compares to that of people with psychiatric conditions (PwPCs).

methodsWe prospectively assessed differences in neurite density (NDI), orientation dispersion (ODI), and isotropic diffusion (F-ISO) in 23 participants with PNES and 27 PwPCs, and their relationships to serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, TNF receptor 1 (TNF-R1), TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), interleukin (IL)-6, intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 using voxelwise multiple linear regressions. Pearson correlations between serum biomarkers and clinical symptoms were also obtained.

resultsThere were no white matter (WM) microstructural differences between groups. In PNES, TNF-R1 was negatively associated with NDI in the right uncinate fasciculus (UF) and positively associated with F-ISO in the left UF. IL-6 was positively associated with NDI and negatively with F-ISO in the left UF. ICAM-1 was positively associated with ODI in the left UF. TNF-α was negatively associated with ODI in the left cingulum bundle. The opposite relationships were observed in PwPCs. Higher TNF-R1 was associated with higher depression, anxiety, lower emotional quality of life, and higher levels of disability in PNES.

conclusionsFor the first time, we report relationships between peripheral inflammatory biomarkers and WM integrity in PNES, including abnormalities in the UF and cingulum bundle. Our results suggest that serum biomarkers of inflammation may, with additional studies, become a useful aid to PNES diagnosis, especially in settings where video-EEG is not available. The lack of group differences in WM microstructure suggests that previously identified WM abnormalities in PNES versus healthy controls may be related to psychological comorbidities of PNES.

Indexed as

Quality of LifeReceptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type IBiomarkersElectroencephalographyHumansInflammationSeizuresBiomarkersReceptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type IFunctional seizuresNeurite orientation dispersion and density imagingNeuroinflammationPsychiatric comorbiditiesWhite matter

Identifiers

PMID37413772
PMCPMC10509528
OpenAlexW4382196162

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.