Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39284823›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2024

Progressive cervical cord atrophy parallels cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease.

Tim M Emmenegger, Raoul Seiler, Paul G Unschuld, Patrick Freund, Jan Klohs, Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Abstract 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 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Charting Cervical Spinal Cord Morphometry Across the Lifespan.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  3. 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

6 authors.

Tim M Emmenegger *Spinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, Forchstrasse 340, 8008, Zurich, Switzerland.
Raoul Seiler *Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland.
Paul G UnschuldDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Geneva (UniGE), 1205, Geneva, Switzerland.
Patrick Freund *Spinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, Forchstrasse 340, 8008, Zurich, Switzerland. patrick.freund@balgrist.ch.
Jan Klohs *Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland. jan.klohs@bruker.com.
Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive episodic memory dysfunction. A prominent hallmark of AD is gradual brain atrophy. Despite extensive research on brain pathology, the understanding of spinal cord pathology in AD and its association with cognitive decline remains understudied. We analyzed serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from the ADNI data repository to assess whether progressive cord atrophy is associated with clinical worsening. Cervical cord morphometry was measured in 45 patients and 49 cognitively normal controls (CN) at two time points over 1.5 years. Regression analysis examined associations between cord atrophy rate and cognitive worsening. Cognitive and functional activity performance declined in patients during follow-up. Compared with controls, patients showed a greater rate of decline of the anterior-posterior width of the cross-sectional cord area per month (- 0.12%, p = 0.036). Worsening in the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), clinical dementia rating (CDR), and functional assessment questionnaire (FAQ) was associated with faster rates of cord atrophy (MMSE: r = 0.320, p = 0.037; CDR: r = - 0.361, p = 0.017; FAQ: r = - 0.398, p = 0.029). Progressive cord atrophy occurs in AD patients; its rate over time being associated with cognitive and functional activity decline.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseAtrophyCervical CordCognitive DysfunctionDisease ProgressionMagnetic Resonance ImagingAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleAlzheimer’s diseaseAtrophyCognitive declineMagnetic resonance imagingSpinal cord

Identifiers

PMID39284823
PMCPMC11405669

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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.