To discern presymptomatic changes in brain structure or function using advanced MRI in carriers of mutations predisposing to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
T1-weighted, diffusion weighted and resting state functional MRI data were acquired at 3 T for 12 asymptomatic mutation carriers (psALS), 12 age-matched controls and affected patients with ALS. Cortical thickness analysis, voxel-based morphometry, volumetric and shape analyses of subcortical structures, tract-based spatial statistics of metrics derived from the diffusion tensor, and resting state functional connectivity (FC) analyses were performed.
Grey matter cortical thickness and shape analysis revealed significant atrophy in patients with ALS (but not psALS) compared with controls in the right primary motor cortex and right caudate. Comparison of diffusion tensor metrics showed widespread fractional anisotropy and radial diffusivity differences in patients with ALS compared to controls and the psALS group, encompassing parts of the corpus callosum, corticospinal tracts and superior longitudinal fasciculus. While FC in the resting-state sensorimotor network was similar in psALS and controls, FC between the cerebellum and a network comprising the precuneus, cingulate & middle frontal lobe was significantly higher in psALS and affected ALS compared to controls.
Rather than structural brain changes, increased FC may be among the earliest detectable brain abnormalities in asymptomatic carriers of ALS-causing gene mutations. With replication and significant refinement, this technique has potential in the future assessment of neuroprotective strategies.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 25. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 31 August 2021.
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Outputs of similar age from Journal of neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry
#6
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Altmetric has tracked 34,359,530 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 94th percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 8,758 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 15.0. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 90% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 31 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 80% of its contemporaries.
