Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38368499›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2024

Fractal analysis of extracellular matrix for observer-independent quantification of intestinal fibrosis in Crohn's disease.

Marie-Christin Weber, Konstantin Schmidt, Annalisa Buck, Atsuko Kasajima, Simon Becker, Chunqiao Li, Stefan Reischl, Dirk Wilhelm, Katja Steiger, Helmut Friess and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
4.4field-weighted citation impact, top 6% 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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Understanding and targeting the tumour matrisome.Nature reviews. Clinical oncology · 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

11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Marie-Christin Weber *Department of Surgery, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675, Munich, Germany.
Konstantin Schmidt *Department of Surgery, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675, Munich, Germany.
Annalisa BuckDepartment of Surgery, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675, Munich, Germany.
Atsuko KasajimaInstitute of Pathology, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Simon BeckerDepartment of Mathematics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Chunqiao LiDepartment of Surgery, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675, Munich, Germany.
Stefan ReischlDepartment of Surgery, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675, Munich, Germany.
Dirk WilhelmDepartment of Surgery, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675, Munich, Germany.
Katja SteigerInstitute of Pathology, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Helmut FriessDepartment of Surgery, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675, Munich, Germany.
Philipp-Alexander NeumannDepartment of Surgery, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675, Munich, Germany. p-a.neumann@tum.de.
TUM Klinikum · DETechnical University of Munich · DEETH Zurich · CH

Funding

Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung AZ 2020_EKEA.29Technical University of Munich, Clinician Scientist Program H-17
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Prevention of intestinal fibrosis remains an unresolved problem in the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD), as specific antifibrotic therapies are not yet available. Appropriate analysis of fibrosis severity is essential for assessing the therapeutic efficacy of potential antifibrotic drugs. The aim of this study was to develop an observer-independent method to quantify intestinal fibrosis in surgical specimens from patients with CD using structural analysis of the extracellular matrix (ECM). We performed fractal analysis in fibrotic and control histological sections of patients with surgery for CD (n = 28). To specifically assess the structure of the collagen matrix, polarized light microscopy was used. A score to quantify collagen fiber alignment and the color of the polarized light was established. Fractal dimension as a measure for the structural complexity correlated significantly with the histological fibrosis score whereas lacunarity as a measure for the compactness of the ECM showed a negative correlation. Polarized light microscopy to visualize the collagen network underlined the structural changes in the ECM network in advanced fibrosis. In conclusion, observer-independent quantification of the structural complexity of the ECM by fractal analysis is a suitable method to quantify the degree of intestinal fibrosis in histological samples from patients with CD.

Indexed as

Crohn DiseaseCollagenExtracellular MatrixFibrosisFractalsHumansCollagenCrohn’s diseaseFractal dimension analysisHistologyIntestinal fibrosis

Identifiers

PMID38368499
PMCPMC10874456
OpenAlexW4391914854

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.