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The Vallecas Project is carried out in the Alzheimer Center Reina Sofia Foundation, funded by CIEN Foundation and Reina Sofia Foundation.

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Avila-Villanueva, MarinaAuthorAngel Fernandez-Blazquez, MiguelAuthor

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January 27, 2022
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The Vallecas Project: a cohort to identify early markers and mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease

Publicated to:Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. 7 (SEP): 181- - 2015-01-01 7(SEP), DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2015.00181

Authors: Olazaran, Javier; Valenti, Meritxell; Frades, Belen; Ascension Zea-Sevilla, Maria; Avila-Villanueva, Marina; Angel Fernandez-Blazquez, Miguel; Calero, Miguel; Luis Dobato, Jose; Antonio Hernandez-Tamames, Juan; Leon-Salas, Beatriz; Agueera-Ortiz, Luis; Lopez-Alvarez, Jorge; Larranaga, Pedro; Bielza, Concha; Alvarez-Linera, Juan; Martinez-Martin, Pablo;

Affiliations

Carlos III Inst Hlth, Alzheimers Ctr Reina Sofia Fdn CIEN Fdn, Madrid, Spain - Author
Carlos III Inst Hlth, CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain - Author
Carlos III Inst Hlth, Natl Ctr Epidemiol, Madrid, Spain - Author
Gregorio Maranon Univ Hosp, Madrid, Spain - Author
Hosp Ruber Int, Dept Neuroimaging, Madrid, Spain - Author
Rey Juan Carlos Univ, Lab Med Imaging Anal & Biometr, Mostoles, Spain - Author
Tech Univ Madrid, Dept Artificial Intelligence, Boadilla Del Monte, Spain - Author
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Abstract

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 epsilon 4 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.

Keywords

alzheimer’s diseasecohort studyearly detectionmild cognitive impairmentAlzheimer's diseaseAssociation workgroupsCohort studyCommunityDementiaDiagnostic guidelinesEarly detectionEpidemiologyMild cognitive impairmentNational instituteOlder-adultsRecommendationsRiskRisk factors

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2015, it was in position 6/49, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Geriatrics & Gerontology.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 5.61, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-16, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 24
  • Scopus: 29
  • Europe PMC: 14

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-16:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 102.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 110 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 69.
  • The number of mentions on the social network Facebook: 1 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 4 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions in news outlets: 8 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.