Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42836773›Full record

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

Cognitive impairment in Parkinson disease correlates with loss of cholinergic axon projections to cortex in an autopsy study.

Rebecca Miller, Jennifer O'Shea, Laura M Rosok, Sydney Lim, Erin E Franklin, Richard J Perrin, Helen Hwang, Dhruva Dhavale, Joel Perlmutter, Meghan C Campbell and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

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.

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.

Rebecca MillerDepartment of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Jennifer O'SheaDepartment of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Laura M RosokDepartment of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Sydney LimDepartment of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Erin E FranklinDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Richard J PerrinDepartment of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Helen HwangDepartment of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Dhruva DhavaleDepartment of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Joel PerlmutterDepartment of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Meghan C CampbellDepartment of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Paul KotzbauerDepartment of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7155-114X

Funding

Smartphone-Based "Burst" Cognitive AssessmentsP01AG003991 · NIA · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI JOHN MORRIS · 1985 to 2026
$69.5M
The natural history of AB accumulation in preclinical ADP01AG026276 · NIA · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI MORRIS, JOHN · 2005 to 2025
$49.5M
Research Education ComponentP30AG066444 · NIA · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI Susan Lynn Stark · 2020 to 2026
$28.7M
INVESTIGATIONS OF DEMENTIA IN PARKINSON DISEASER01NS075321 · NINDS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI CAMPBELL, MEGHAN C, PERLMUTTER, JOEL SYNES · 2011 to 2021
$8.2M
Protein Aggregation and Neurotransmitter Deficits in Parkinson DiseaseR01NS097799 · NINDS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI PAUL T KOTZBAUER · 2016 to 2026
$5.8M
Structural Biology of Alpha-Synuclein in Lewy Body DementiaRF1NS110436 · NINDS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI KOTZBAUER, PAUL T, RIENSTRA, CHAD M · 2023 to 2023
$4.2M
Parkinson Disease Clinical Subtypes: Validation, Clinical Utility, and Biological CorrelatesR01NS097437 · NINDS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI MEGHAN C CAMPBELL · 2017 to 2026
$4.1M
STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY OF ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN IN LEWY BODY DEMENTIAU01NS110436 · NINDS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI KOTZBAUER, PAUL T · 2018 to 2022
$4.1M
Investigations of Dementia in Parkinson DiseaseRF1NS075321 · NINDS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI CAMPBELL, MEGHAN C, PERLMUTTER, JOEL SYNES · 2023 to 2023
$2.3M
Structural Biology of Alpha-Synuclein in Lewy Body DementiaR01NS110436 · NINDS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI PAUL T KOTZBAUER, ELIZABETH R WRIGHT · 2026 to 2026
$1.4M
American Parkinson Disease AssociationNIA NIH HHS AG003991NIA NIH HHS AG02627NIA NIH HHS AG066444NIA NIH HHS P01 AG003991NIA NIH HHS P01 AG026276NIA NIH HHS P30 AG066444NINDS NIH HHS NS075321NINDS NIH HHS NS097437NINDS NIH HHS NS097799NINDS NIH HHS NS110436NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS075321NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS097437NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS097799NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS110436NINDS NIH HHS RF1 NS075321NINDS NIH HHS RF1 NS110436NINDS NIH HHS U01 NS110436
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPeople with Parkinson's disease (PD) frequently develop dementia. We investigated the relationship between cognitive impairment and the loss of cholinergic axon projections from the nucleus basalis of Meynert to neocortical regions in PD.

methodsLevels of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), the enzyme required for acetylcholine synthesis, were measured with a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in eight brain regions from 37 PD autopsy cases. Analyses focused on relationships between measures of global cognitive impairment and average ChAT levels in four neocortical regions.

resultsMean neocortical ChAT levels positively correlated with the Mini-Mental State Examination and a global cognition z-score obtained by averaging performance in multiple cognitive domains. Mean neocortical ChAT levels also showed a trending inverse correlation with the Clinical Dementia Rating sum of boxes. DISCUSSION: These results indicate a role for the loss of cholinergic projections to neocortical regions in the development of cognitive impairment in PD.

Indexed as

AxonsCerebral CortexCholinergic NeuronsCognitive DysfunctionParkinson DiseaseAgedAged, 80 and overAutopsyBasal Nucleus of MeynertCholine O-AcetyltransferaseFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedCholine O-Acetyltransferasecholine acetyltransferasecholinergic neuronsLewy body dementiaParkinson's disease

Identifiers

PMID42836773
PMCPMC13641098

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.