Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40617622›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Investigating the eye in Down syndrome as a window to Alzheimer's disease: the REVEAL protocol - a clinical cross-sectional study.

Aoife Mary Louise Hunter, Sarah Atkinson, Elaine Murray, Kathryn Saunders, Tunde Peto, Lajos Csincsik, Jamie Mitchell, Henrik Zetterberg, André Strydom, Julie-Anne Little and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Aoife Mary Louise HunterCentre for Optometry and Vision Science, Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK a.hunter@ulster.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0150-4126
Sarah AtkinsonCentre for Genomic Medicine, Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3208-8794
Elaine MurrayPersonalised Medical Centre, School of Medicine, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0170-6809
Kathryn SaundersCentre for Optometry and Vision Science, Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9289-5731
Tunde PetoCentre for Public Health, School of Medicine Dentistry and Biomedical Science, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6265-0381
Lajos CsincsikCentre for Public Health, School of Medicine Dentistry and Biomedical Science, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5243-7536
Jamie MitchellThe Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine Dentistry and Biomedical Science, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-7329-8194
Henrik ZetterbergUCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London, UK.
André StrydomInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Julie-Anne LittleCentre for Optometry and Vision Science, Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5242-8066
Imre LengyelWellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, QUB, Belfast, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7467-2174

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThere is a need for early, non-invasive and inexpensive biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD), which could serve as a proxy measure in prevention and intervention trials that might eventually be suitable for mass screening. People with Down syndrome (DS) are the largest patient group whose condition is associated with a genetically determined increased risk of AD. The REVEAL study aims to examine changes in the structure and function of the eye in individuals with DS compared with those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and cognitively healthy control (HC) individuals. REVEAL will also explore whether these changes are connected to inflammatory markers previously associated with AD. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The protocol describes a cross-sectional, non-interventional, single-centre study recruiting three cohorts, including (1) participants with DS (target n=50; age range, 6-60 years), (2) participants with MCI (target n=50; age range, 50-80 years) and (3) HC participants (target n=50; age range, 50-80 years). The primary research objective is to profile retinal, choroidal and lenticular status using a variety of eye imaging modalities and retinal functional testing to determine potential associations with cognitive status. The REVEAL study will also measure and compare established blood markers for AD and proteomic and transcriptomic marker profiles between DS, MCI and HC groups. Between-group differences will be assessed with an independent sample t-test and χ ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study gained a favourable opinion from Health and Social Care Research Ethics Committee A (REC reference 22/NI/0158; approved on 2 December 2022; Amendment 22/0064 Amend 1, 5 April 2023; Amendment 22/0064 Amend 2; 23 May 2024; Amendment 22/0064 Amend 3; 25 June 2024; Amendment 22/0064 Amend 4; 16 January 2025; Amendment 22.0064 Amend 5; 9 May 2025; Amendment 22.0064 Amend 6; 9 June 2025). The study has also been reviewed and approved by the School of Biomedical Sciences Research Ethics Filter Committee within Ulster University. Findings from the REVEAL study will be presented to academic audiences at international conferences and peer-reviewed publications in targeted high-impact journals after data collection and analysis are complete. Dissemination activities will also include presentations at public events.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseCognitive DysfunctionDown SyndromeEyeAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overBiomarkersCase-Control StudiesChildCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedBiomarkersAgingDementiaOPHTHALMOLOGY

Identifiers

PMID40617622
PMCPMC12228435

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.