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The Vallecas Project: A Cohort to Identify Early Markers and Mechanisms of Alzheimer's Disease
Olazarán J, Valentí M, Frades B, Zea-Sevilla MA, Ávila-Villanueva M, Fernández-Blázquez MÁ, Calero M, Dobato JL et al.. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 2015-09-30
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Introduction Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a major threat for the well-being of an increasingly aged world population. The physiopathological mechanisms of late-onset AD are multiple, possibly heterogeneous, and not well understood. Different combinations of variables from several domains (i.e., clinical, neuropsychological, structural, and biochemical markers) may predict dementia conversion, according to distinct physiopathological pathways, in different groups of subjects. Methods We launched the Vallecas Project (VP), a cohort study of non-demented people aged 70-85, to characterize the social, clinical, neuropsychological, structural, and biochemical underpinnings of AD inception. Given the exploratory nature of the VP, multidimensional and machine learning techniques will be applied, in addition to the traditional multivariate statistical methods. Results A total of 1169 subjects were recruited between October 2011 and December 2013. Mean age was 74.4 years (SD 3.9), 63.5% of the subjects were women, and 17.9% of the subjects were carriers of at least one ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E gene. Cognitive diagnoses at inclusion were as follows: normal cognition 93.0% and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) 7.0% (3.1% amnestic MCI, 0.1% non-amnestic MCI, 3.8% mixed MCI). Blood samples were obtained and stored for future determinations in 99.9% of the subjects and 3T magnetic resonance imaging study was conducted in 89.9% of the volunteers. The cohort is being followed up annually for 4 years after the baseline. Conclusion We have established a valuable homogeneous single-center cohort which, by identifying groups of variables associated with high risk of MCI or dementia conversion, should help to clarify the early physiopathological mechanisms of AD and should provide avenues for prompt diagnosis and AD prevention.
Key findings
- Results A total of 1169 subjects were recruited between October 2011 and December 2013.
- Conclusion We have established a valuable homogeneous single-center cohort which, by identifying groups of variables associated with high risk of MCI or dementia conversion, should help to clarify the early physiopathological mechanisms of AD and should provide avenues for prompt diagnosis and AD prevention.
Why it matters
The Vallecas Project recruited 1,169 non-demented people aged 70 to 85 to characterize the social, clinical, neuropsychological, structural, and biochemical underpinnings of Alzheimer's disease inception. The authors state that by identifying groups of variables associated with high risk of MCI or dementia conversion, the cohort should help clarify early physiopathological mechanisms and provide avenues for prompt diagnosis and prevention.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants1,169
- Effect size63.5%; 17.9%; 93.0%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 58/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in aging neuroscience) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience: journal h-index 174 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,169 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 46 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.5 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 13 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Pablo Martínez‐Martín: h-index 87 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Instituto de Salud Carlos III: institution h-index 649 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26483681) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 58 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2015.00181
- PubMed: 26483681
- Original source →
- Free full text: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience →
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
Olazarán, J., Valentí, M., Frades, B., Zea-Sevilla, M. A., Ávila-Villanueva, M., MÁ, F.-B., et al. (2015). The Vallecas Project: A Cohort to Identify Early Markers and Mechanisms of Alzheimer's Disease. Frontiers in aging neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2015.00181
Vancouver
Olazarán J, Valentí M, Frades B, Zea-Sevilla MA, Ávila-Villanueva M, MÁ F.-B, et al. The Vallecas Project: A Cohort to Identify Early Markers and Mechanisms of Alzheimer's Disease. Frontiers in aging neuroscience. 2015. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2015.00181. PMID: 26483681.
BibTeX
@article{olazaran2015-26483681,
author = {Olazarán, J. and Valentí, M. and Frades, B. and Zea-Sevilla, M. A. and Ávila-Villanueva, M. and MÁ, Fernández-Blázquez and Calero, M. and Dobato, J. L. and others},
title = {{The Vallecas Project: A Cohort to Identify Early Markers and Mechanisms of Alzheimer's Disease}},
journal = {Frontiers in aging neuroscience},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.3389/fnagi.2015.00181},
pmid = {26483681},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2015.00181}
}
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