Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39808241›Full record

ArticleCerebellum (London, England)2025

Altered Intracerebellar Functional Connectivity in Friedreich's Ataxia: A Graph-Theory Functional MRI Study.

Mario Tranfa, Teresa Costabile, Giuseppe Pontillo, Alessandra Scaravilli, Chiara Pane, Arturo Brunetti, Francesco Saccà, Sirio Cocozza

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cerebellum (London, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

8 authors.

Mario TranfaDepartment of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Via Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy.
Teresa CostabileDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, "Luigi Vanvitelli" University, Naples, Italy.
Giuseppe PontilloDepartment of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Via Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy.
Alessandra ScaravilliDepartment of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Via Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy.
Chiara PaneDepartment of Neurosciences and Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy.
Arturo BrunettiDepartment of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Via Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy.
Francesco SaccàDepartment of Neurosciences and Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy.
Sirio CocozzaDepartment of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Via Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy. sirio.cocozza@unina.it.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Historically, Friedreich's Ataxia (FRDA) has been linked to a relatively preserved cerebellar cortex. Recent advances in neuroimaging have revealed altered cerebello-cerebral functional connectivity (FC), but the extent of intra-cerebellar FC changes and their impact on cognition remains unclear. This study investigates intra-cerebellar FC alterations and their cognitive implications in FRDA. In this cross-sectional, single-center study, resting-state functional MRI data from 17 patients with FRDA (average age 27.7 ± 13.6 years; F/M = 6/11) and 20 healthy controls (HC) (average age 29.4 ± 9.7 years; F/M = 9/11), all of whom underwent neuropsychological testing, were analyzed. From functional connectivity matrices, graph measures were computed at both the network and node levels using two complementary parcellations. FRDA patients exhibited decreased global efficiency (p = 0.04), nodal degree (p = 0.001) and betweenness centrality (p = 0.04) in the vermal portion of lobule VIII, along with reduced global efficiency in cerebellar regions belonging to the Control-A network (p = 0.02), one of the three subdivisions of the Frontoparietal network. Verbal memory deficits correlated with global efficiency in both the vermal portion of lobule VIII (r = 0.53, p = 0.02) and the cerebellar regions of the Control-A network (r = 0.49, p = 0.05). Graph analysis revealed regional intra-cerebellar FC changes in FRDA, marked by reduced functional centrality in cerebellar regions of the vermis and responsible for executive functions. These changes correlated with cognitive alterations, highlighting the role of the cerebellar cortex in the cognitive impairment observed in FRDA.

Indexed as

CerebellumFriedreich AtaxiaMagnetic Resonance ImagingAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleNeural PathwaysNeuropsychological TestsYoung AdultCognitive impairmentFriedreich’s AtaxiaFunctional MRIGraph theoryVerbal memory

Identifiers

PMID39808241
PMCPMC11732920

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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.