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NIA-AA Research Framework: Toward a biological definition of Alzheimer's disease
Jack CR, Bennett DA, Blennow K, Carrillo MC, Dunn B, Haeberlein SB, Holtzman DM, Jagust W et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2018-04-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
We envision that defining AD as a biological construct will enable a more accurate characterization and understanding of the sequence of events that lead to cognitive impairment that is associated with AD, as well as the multifactorial etiology of dementia.
Key findings
- We envision that defining AD as a biological construct will enable a more accurate characterization and understanding of the sequence of events that lead to cognitive impairment that is associated with AD, as well as the multifactorial etiology of dementia.
Why it matters
This 2018 NIA-AA paper proposes, for research use, defining Alzheimer's disease by biology rather than by symptoms alone. Its authors "envision" that this will give a more accurate picture of "the sequence of events that lead to cognitive impairment" and of the "multifactorial etiology of dementia", but this is a stated aim, not a tested result. The paper reports no patient data and offers no test, treatment or cure.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 64/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 10,498 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 1,049.8 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 549.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 6 / 6 | Cited by 651 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 4,611 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Nina B. Silverberg: h-index 30 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | National Institutes of Health: institution h-index 2,723 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 21 institution(s) in 6 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 29653606) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 64 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2018.02.018
- PubMed: 29653606
- Original source →
- Free full text: Alzheimer s & Dementia →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Jack, C. R., Bennett, D. A., Blennow, K., Carrillo, M. C., Dunn, B., Haeberlein, S. B., et al. (2018). NIA-AA Research Framework: Toward a biological definition of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2018.02.018
Vancouver
Jack CR, Bennett DA, Blennow K, Carrillo MC, Dunn B, Haeberlein SB, et al. NIA-AA Research Framework: Toward a biological definition of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2018. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2018.02.018. PMID: 29653606.
BibTeX
@article{jack2018-29653606,
author = {Jack, C. R. and Bennett, D. A. and Blennow, K. and Carrillo, M. C. and Dunn, B. and Haeberlein, S. B. and Holtzman, D. M. and Jagust, W. and others},
title = {{NIA-AA Research Framework: Toward a biological definition of Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1016/j.jalz.2018.02.018},
pmid = {29653606},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2018.02.018}
}
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