Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41586487›Full record

ArticleAnnals of neurology2026

Enhanced Sensitivity of a Modified Quaking-Induced Conversion Diagnostic Test for the Broad Detection of Sporadic and Inherited Prion Diseases: A Retrospective Study.

Jennifer Myskiw, Rebecca Fox, Dominic M S Kielich, Lise Lamoureux, Melanie Leonhardt, Olivia Nykvist, Jessy A Slota, Kristen Avery, Clark Phillipson, Kathy Frost and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Annals of neurology, 2026. 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

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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.

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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
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

14 authors.

Jennifer MyskiwMycobacteriology, Vector-borne and Prion Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.ORCID 0009-0003-0625-7130
Rebecca FoxMycobacteriology, Vector-borne and Prion Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Dominic M S KielichMycobacteriology, Vector-borne and Prion Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Lise LamoureuxMycobacteriology, Vector-borne and Prion Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Melanie LeonhardtMycobacteriology, Vector-borne and Prion Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Olivia NykvistMycobacteriology, Vector-borne and Prion Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Jessy A SlotaMycobacteriology, Vector-borne and Prion Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-9025-8368
Kristen AveryMycobacteriology, Vector-borne and Prion Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Clark PhillipsonMycobacteriology, Vector-borne and Prion Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Kathy FrostMycobacteriology, Vector-borne and Prion Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Sharon SimonMycobacteriology, Vector-borne and Prion Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Brian S ApplebyNational Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH.
Ben A Bailey-ElkinMycobacteriology, Vector-borne and Prion Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Stephanie A BoothMycobacteriology, Vector-borne and Prion Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-8108-5955

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveQuaking-induced conversion (QuIC) tests, which detect prion-seeding activity in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), have markedly advanced the antemortem diagnosis of prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). These tests provide high diagnostic accuracy and enable timely differentiation from other rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorders. However, a key limitation of current QuIC tests are the reduced sensitivity in detecting inherited prion diseases and rare sporadic subtypes, including variably protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr). To address this gap, we evaluated a simplified QuIC test, end-point QuIC (EP-QuIC), incorporating a novel recombinant prion protein substrate derived from the North American deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus).

methodsThe diagnostic performance of the modified QuIC test was evaluated using CSF samples from 61 sporadic CJD, 50 inherited prion disease, and 5 VPSPr cases.

resultsEP-QuIC with the deer mouse substrate achieved 96.6% sensitivity (111/116) and 100% specificity (35/35), outperforming both standard EP-QuIC (87.1%) and next-generation (IQ-CSF) real-time-QuIC (72.4%) across the same cohort. Notably, this enhanced assay detected inherited mutations, such as D178N, that were previously undetectable with existing diagnostic tests.

interpretationThese findings demonstrate that adapting EP-QuIC with an optimized substrate, termed enhanced sensitivity QuIC (ES-QuIC), significantly improves diagnostic performance for inherited and atypical prion diseases. By expanding the diagnostic reach of QuIC tests, this study strengthens antemortem surveillance, reduces reliance on postmortem confirmation, and improves opportunities for early intervention and clinical trial enrollment, particularly for genetic cases most likely to benefit from emerging therapeutic strategies. ANN NEUROL 2026;99:1303-1314.

Indexed as

Creutzfeldt-Jakob SyndromePrion DiseasesPrion ProteinsAnimalsFemaleHumansPeromyscusPrionsRetrospective StudiesSensitivity and SpecificityPrion ProteinsPrions

Identifiers

PMID41586487
PMCPMC13092778

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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.