Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42805945›Full record

ArticleAlzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association2026

World Trade Center neurotoxicant exposure severity is associated with cortical thinning and regional brain atrophy: a neuroimaging study of general responders at midlife.

Sean A P Clouston, Chuan Huang, Temurbek Askarov, Yicun Wang, Zan Chaudhry, Melissa A Carr, Yuan Yang, Steven West, Frank D Mann, Ruth Marquez and 6 more

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Article in Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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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

16 authors.

Sean A P CloustonProgram in Public Health, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6124-0329
Chuan HuangDepartment of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Temurbek AskarovDepartment of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA.
Yicun WangDepartment of Radiology, Division of Neuroradiology, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA.
Zan ChaudhryWorld Trade Center Health and Wellness Program, Commack, New York, USA.
Melissa A CarrWorld Trade Center Health and Wellness Program, Commack, New York, USA.
Yuan YangProgram in Public Health, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA.
Steven WestDepartment of Radiology, Division of Neuroradiology, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA.
Frank D MannProgram in Public Health, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA.
Ruth MarquezDepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA.
Paul VaskaDepartment of Radiology, Division of Neuroradiology, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA.
Jaymie MelikerProgram in Public Health, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA.
Sam GandyDepartments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
Roberto G LucchiniDepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA.
Benjamin J LuftWorld Trade Center Health and Wellness Program, Commack, New York, USA.
Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Funding

AbbVie, Alzheimer's Association; Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation; Araclon Biotech; BioClinica, Inc.; Biogen; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; CereSpir, Inc.; Cogstate; Eisai Inc.; Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Eli Lilly and Company; EuroImmun; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and its affiliated company Genentech, Inc.; Fujirebio; GE Healthcare; IXICO Ltd.; Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy Research & Development, LLC.; Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development LLC.; Lumosity; Lundbeck; Merck & Co., Inc.; Meso Scale Diagnostics, LLC.; NeuroRx Research; Neurotrack Technologies; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Pfizer Inc.; Piramal Imaging; Servier; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company; and Transition Therapeutics(ADNI) (National Institutes of Health U01 AG024904CIHRCure Alzheimer's Fund R01AG084699Cure Alzheimer's Fund R01AG093281Cure Alzheimer's Fund R01AG093879DOD ADNI W81XWH-12-2-0012Foundation for the National Institutes of HealthI.B. Ertegun Project for Cognitive Health Extension at ISMMSNIOSH P30 AG066514NIOSH R01AG049953NIOSH R01AG067590NIOSH CDC HHS U01OH011314
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionExposure to aerosolized pollutants is a risk factor for cognitive impairment and dementia, but the specific features of exposure-related neurodegeneration remain unclear.

methodsWe measured the World Trade Center Neurotoxicant Exposure Severity Index (WTC-NESI) in 218 responders and unexposed controls aged 44-65 years. The main outcome was cortical thickness. Correlation analyses reported unadjusted associations and multiple linear regression to adjust for correlates. Vertex-wise analyses were used with threshold-free cluster enhancement to examine associations after adjusting for cross-vertex clustering in atrophy.

resultsCortical thickness was associated with WTC-NESI (R = -0.38, p < 0.001) that survived multivariable adjustment. Vertex-wise analyses revealed reduced cortical thickness across much of the cortical surface that was associated with WTC exposure severity. Results were right-hemisphere asymmetric and focused in the precentral regions (partial η

conclusionOur results provide an important reference for neurotoxicological investigators mapping the implications of airborne pollutant exposures. This study suggests that efforts to mitigate exposures in first responders might have long-term implications for cerebral health.

Indexed as

BrainCerebral CortexCerebral Cortical ThinningEmergency RespondersSeptember 11 Terrorist AttacksAdultAgedAtrophyFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedNeuroimagingAlzheimer's disease and related dementiascortical atrophypollutant exposuresWorld Trade Center responders

Identifiers

PMID42805945
PMCPMC13619733

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.