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The A4 study: stopping AD before symptoms begin?
Sperling RA, Rentz DM, Johnson KA, Karlawish J, Donohue M, Salmon DP, Aisen P.. Science translational medicine, 2014-03-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
A new secondary prevention trial in older people with amyloid accumulation at high risk for Alzheimer's disease dementia should provide insights into whether anti-amyloid therapy can delay cognitive decline.
Key findings
- A new secondary prevention trial in older people with amyloid accumulation at high risk for Alzheimer's disease dementia should provide insights into whether anti-amyloid therapy can delay cognitive decline.
Why it matters
This 2014 article introduces the A4 study, a secondary prevention trial in older people who have amyloid build-up in the brain and are at high risk of Alzheimer's dementia but do not yet have symptoms. It sets out what the trial was designed to test: whether anti-amyloid therapy "can delay cognitive decline". It reports no results, so it is not evidence that the treatment works or that it fails.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 56/100
Published in a peer-reviewed 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 | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Science translational medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Science Translational Medicine: journal h-index 365 (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 | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 764 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 54.6 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 44.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 82 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 146 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Paul S. S Aisen: h-index 87 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24648338) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 56 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3007941
- PubMed: 24648338
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
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 names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Sperling, R. A., Rentz, D. M., Johnson, K. A., Karlawish, J., Donohue, M., Salmon, D. P., et al. (2014). The A4 study: stopping AD before symptoms begin? Science translational medicine. https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.3007941
Vancouver
Sperling RA, Rentz DM, Johnson KA, Karlawish J, Donohue M, Salmon DP, et al. The A4 study: stopping AD before symptoms begin? Science translational medicine. 2014. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.3007941. PMID: 24648338.
BibTeX
@article{sperling2014-24648338,
author = {Sperling, R. A. and Rentz, D. M. and Johnson, K. A. and Karlawish, J. and Donohue, M. and Salmon, D. P. and Aisen, P.},
title = {{The A4 study: stopping AD before symptoms begin?}},
journal = {Science translational medicine},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1126/scitranslmed.3007941},
pmid = {24648338},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.3007941}
}
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