Observational studyEuropean journal of neurology2024
Ultrasonic detection of vagus, accessory, and phrenic nerve atrophy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Relation to impairment and mortality.
Observational study in European journal of neurology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sonographic Evaluation of Peripheral Nerves and Cervical Nerve Roots in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Pooled it
- A nomogram for estimating baseline respiratory insufficiency in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Annals of medicine · 2026Article
- Brain-first versus body-first Parkinson's disease: Differential findings on pupillary, brainstem and vagus sonography.Journal of neurology · 2026Article
- The gut-brain vagal axis governs mesolimbic dopamine dynamics and reward events.Science advances · 2026Article
- Computational Approaches to Neurological Disorder Diagnosis: An In-Depth Review of Current Methods and Future ProspectsCurrent medical imaging · 2026Review
- Ultrasonography of the Vagus Nerve for ALS Patients: Correlations with Clinical Data and Dysfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Comparison of vagus nerve cross-sectional area between brain-first and body-first Parkinson's disease.NPJ Parkinson's disease · 2024Article
- Phrenic Nerve Sonography Alterations in Patients with ALS: Insight with Clinical and Neurophysiological Findings.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Ultrasonic detection of vagus, accessory, and phrenic nerve atrophy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Relation to impairment and mortality.European journal of neurology · 2024Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
background and purposeIn amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), phrenic nerve (PN) atrophy has been found, whereas there is controversy regarding vagus nerve (VN) atrophy. Here, we aimed to find out whether PN atrophy is related to respiratory function and 12-month survival. Moreover, we investigated the relevance of VN and spinal accessory nerve (AN) atrophy in ALS.
methodsThis prospective observational monocentric study included 80 adult participants (40 ALS patients, 40 age- and sex-matched controls). The cross-sectional area (CSA) of bilateral cervical VN, AN, and PN was measured on high-resolution ultrasonography. Clinical assessments included the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R), the Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire, and handheld spirometry of forced vital capacity (FVC). One-year survival was documented.
resultsThe CSA of each nerve, VN, AN, and PN, was smaller in ALS patients compared to controls. VN atrophy was unrelated to nonmotor symptom scores. PN CSA correlated with the respiratory subscore of the ALSFRS-R (Spearman test, r = 0.59, p < 0.001), the supine FVC (r = 0.71, p < 0.001), and the relative change of sitting-supine FVC (r = -0.64, p = 0.001). Respiratory impairment was predicted by bilateral mean PN CSA (p = 0.046, optimum cutoff value of ≤0.37 mm
conclusionsUltrasonography detects degeneration of cranial nerve motor fibers. PN and AN calibers are tightly related to respiratory function and 1-year survival in ALS.
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Registered trials
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.