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56/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 56 out of 100. Treatments

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Plain-language summary

Defining the primary cognitive endpoint is a major decision for Alzheimer's disease preventive trials. As an example for further trials we present in detail the three-year cognitive decline in the placebo group of MAPT trial, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) using a cognitive composite score (MAPT-PACC). Participants were dementia-free adults 70 years or older, with subjective memory complaints. Our findings as expected showed subjects with older age (>75), higher beta amyloid brain deposition, APOE-ε4 allele carriers, with low RBC DHA+EPA levels and higher CDR level are at higher risk of cognitive decline. The data presented in this paper can be useful for future preventive trials to choose the primary cognitive end point, assess the clinical relevance of cognitive changes and perform sample size calculation for several targeted population eg. ApoE4, amyloid +, oldest old, lower n3-PUFA. We believe that the trial group with CDR 0.5, without being selected by a memory test endpoint is a good target population for AD preventive trials.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: High

This is a trial. This paper describes the 3-year cognitive decline in the placebo group of the MAPT trial, finding that older age, higher brain amyloid, APOE-ε4, low RBC DHA+EPA levels, and higher CDR level were associated with higher risk of cognitive decline. The data are presented to help future prevention trials choose cognitive endpoints and calculate sample sizes.

Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Chhetri, J. K., de Souto Barreto, P., Cantet, C., Cesari, M., Coley, N., Andrieu, S., et al. (2018). Trajectory of the MAPT-PACC-Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite in the Placebo Group of a Randomized Control Trial: Results from the MAPT Study: Lessons for Further Trials. The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease. https://doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2017.21

Vancouver

Chhetri JK, de Souto Barreto P, Cantet C, Cesari M, Coley N, Andrieu S, et al. Trajectory of the MAPT-PACC-Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite in the Placebo Group of a Randomized Control Trial: Results from the MAPT Study: Lessons for Further Trials. The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease. 2018. doi:10.14283/jpad.2017.21. PMID: 29405230.

BibTeX

@article{chhetri2018-29405230,
  author  = {Chhetri, J. K. and de Souto Barreto, P. and Cantet, C. and Cesari, M. and Coley, N. and Andrieu, S. and Vellas, B.},
  title   = {{Trajectory of the MAPT-PACC-Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite in the Placebo Group of a Randomized Control Trial: Results from the MAPT Study: Lessons for Further Trials}},
  journal = {The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease},
  year    = {2018},
  doi     = {10.14283/jpad.2017.21},
  pmid    = {29405230},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2017.21}
}

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.

How to read this study

Design: this is a trial. Participants are assigned to a treatment or a comparison, so the key questions are who was enrolled, whether the comparison group got a placebo or nothing, how long people were followed, and whether the result is on a measure that matters to patients or on a biomarker. Open-label and small trials can overstate benefit.
Size: the record gives no participant count. Look for one in the original before trusting a pattern.
Effect: the record gives no effect size, so the summary above cannot say how large any difference was.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded high. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. High means the abstract mentions a randomized design, a meta-analysis or a systematic review. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

New to reading papers? Six questions to ask of any Alzheimer’s study · how we score.

Key findings

Our findings as expected showed subjects with older age (>75), higher beta amyloid brain deposition, APOE-ε4 allele carriers, with low RBC DHA+EPA levels and higher CDR level are at higher risk of cognitive decline.

Why it matters

This paper describes the 3-year cognitive decline in the placebo group of the MAPT trial, finding that older age, higher brain amyloid, APOE-ε4, low RBC DHA+EPA levels, and higher CDR level were associated with higher risk of cognitive decline. The data are presented to help future prevention trials choose cognitive endpoints and calculate sample sizes.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Treatments →

Study details

Study designrandomized controlled trial
Evidence strengthHigh

How this study scored 56/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomized controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and studied in people because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease)
Journal's citation record	0 / 4	The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer s Disease: journal h-index 63 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	11 / 12	A randomized controlled trial
Strength of evidence	5 / 5	Rated “high” 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)
Randomized / blinded	1 / 2	Randomized (as stated in the record)
Times cited	3 / 7	Cited 17 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	1 / 5	1.7 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018
Impact for its field and year	2 / 6	Cited 1.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	1 / 6	Cited by 2 other studies in this library
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Bruno J. Vellas: h-index 135 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Inserm: institution h-index 1,988 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 29405230)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	56 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

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Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

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