Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39973501›Full record

ReviewJournal of Parkinson's disease2025

Proposed biological definitions of Parkinson's disease confuse understanding without delivering meaningful advances.

Francisco Cardoso, Peter Schmidt

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of Parkinson's disease, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. 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

2 authors.

Francisco CardosoMovement Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Internal Medicine Department, The Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.ORCID 0000-0003-0808-0116
Peter SchmidtDepartment of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.

Funding

RhoFED CDSMCU01AI178773 · NIAID · RHO FEDERAL SYSTEMS DIVISION, INC. · PI Lars Dunaway, Cathie Snyder · 2023 to 2026
$38.0M
NIAID NIH HHS U01 AI178773
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This article reflects on two proposals to classify and stage Parkinson's disease (PD) and related conditions based on the presence of aggregated alpha-synuclein (ASN) detected by alpha-synuclein aggregation assay (SAA). The authors highlight the significant shortcomings of the proposals: detection of ASN by SAA is not specific of PD or other well-established clinical conditions; they do not allow prediction of clinical course and prognosis; and they are not suitable as an endpoint for clinical trials. To move forward with proposals reflecting so many uncertainties and unknowns will just sow confusion and misunderstanding within the PD community.

Indexed as

alpha-SynucleinParkinson DiseaseBiomarkersHumansalpha-SynucleinBiomarkersalpha-synucleinalpha-synuclein aggregation assayclassificationdiagnosisLewy body dementiaParkinson's diseaseREM sleep behavior disorderstaging

Identifiers

PMID39973501
PMCPMC13347491

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

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 Socratic graph.