The preclinical Alzheimer cognitive composite: measuring amyloid-related decline
Donohue MC, Sperling RA, Salmon DP, Rentz DM, Raman R, Thomas RG, Weiner M, Aisen PS et al.. JAMA neurology, 2014-08-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Results In ADNI, Aβ-positive participants showed more decline than did Aβ-negative participants with regard to the ADCS-PACC score at 24 months (mean [SE] difference, -1.239 [0.522] [95% CI, -2.263 to -0.215]; P = .02). In AIBL, the mean (SE) difference is significant at both 18 months (-1.009 [0.406] [95% CI, -1.805 to -0.213]; P = .01) and 36 months (-1.404 [0.452] [95% CI, -2.290 to -0.519]; P = .002). In the ADCS-PI study, APOE-ε4 allele carriers performed significantly worse on the ADCS-PACC at 24 months (mean [SE] score, -0.742 [0.294] [95% CI, -1.318 to -0.165]; P = .01) and 36 months (-1.531 [0.469] [95% CI, -2.450 to -0.612]; P = .001). In the ADCS-PI study, cognitively normal participants who progress from a global Clinical Dementia Rating score of 0 are significantly worse on the ADCS-PACC than cognitively normal participants who are stable with a global Clinical Dementia Rating score of 0 at months 12, 24, and 36 (mean [SE] ADCS-PACC score, -4.471 [0.702] [95% CI, -5.848 to -3.094]; P Conclusions and relevance Analyses of at-risk cognitively normal populations suggest that we can reliably measure the first signs of cognitive decline with the ADCS-PACC.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Donohue, M. C., Sperling, R. A., Salmon, D. P., Rentz, D. M., Raman, R., Thomas, R. G., et al. (2014). The preclinical Alzheimer cognitive composite: measuring amyloid-related decline. JAMA neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.803
Vancouver
Donohue MC, Sperling RA, Salmon DP, Rentz DM, Raman R, Thomas RG, et al. The preclinical Alzheimer cognitive composite: measuring amyloid-related decline. JAMA neurology. 2014. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.803. PMID: 24886908.
BibTeX
@article{donohue2014-24886908,
author = {Donohue, M. C. and Sperling, R. A. and Salmon, D. P. and Rentz, D. M. and Raman, R. and Thomas, R. G. and Weiner, M. and Aisen, P. S. and others},
title = {{The preclinical Alzheimer cognitive composite: measuring amyloid-related decline}},
journal = {JAMA neurology},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.803},
pmid = {24886908},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.803}
}
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Key findings
- Results In ADNI, Aβ-positive participants showed more decline than did Aβ-negative participants with regard to the ADCS-PACC score at 24 months (mean [SE] difference, -1.239 [0.522] [95% CI, -2.263 to -0.215]; P = .02).
- In AIBL, the mean (SE) difference is significant at both 18 months (-1.009 [0.406] [95% CI, -1.805 to -0.213]; P = .01) and 36 months (-1.404 [0.452] [95% CI, -2.290 to -0.519]; P = .002).
- In the ADCS-PI study, APOE-ε4 allele carriers performed significantly worse on the ADCS-PACC at 24 months (mean [SE] score, -0.742 [0.294] [95% CI, -1.318 to -0.165]; P = .01) and 36 months (-1.531 [0.469] [95% CI, -2.450 to -0.612]; P = .001).
- In the ADCS-PI study, cognitively normal participants who progress from a global Clinical Dementia Rating score of 0 are significantly worse on the ADCS-PACC than cognitively normal participants who are stable with a global Clinical Dementia Rating score of 0 at months 12, 24, and 36 (mean [SE] ADCS-PACC score, -4.471 [0.702] [95% CI, -5.848 to -3.094]; P < .001).
Why it matters
This study found that a composite cognitive test could detect early decline in people without dementia who had amyloid buildup or carried the APOE epsilon4 allele. It offers a way to measure the first signs of cognitive decline in research, but it does not provide a treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 65/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and studied in people because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | JAMA Neurology: journal h-index 235 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies (from PubMed type “Meta-Analysis”) |
| 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 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 865 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 61.8 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 26.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 323 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 6 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24886908) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 65 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.803
- PubMed: 24886908
- 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).
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