Documentation
Description:
This dataset originates from ALFA+, a longitudinal study nested within the ALFA research platform at the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, designed to study preclinical Alzheimer’s disease in cognitively unimpaired adults. The dataset contains selected participant-level data from 419 ALFA+ participants at baseline and, where included, 381 participants at the second visit. ALFA+ data includes visit information, sociodemographic variables, clinical diagnosis, medical history, medication, vital signs and anthropometrics, cognitive and behavioural measures, APOE genotype, neuroimaging summary measures, and cerebrospinal fluid biomarker status.
Data were generated using standardized ALFA+ procedures, including clinical assessment, cognitive testing, blood-based genetic characterization, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and lumbar puncture. Cerebrospinal fluid refers to the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord, used here to measure Alzheimer’s disease-related biomarkers. At Visit 1, participants had a mean age of 61.1 years, 60.6% were female and 55.1% were APOE-ε4 carriers; at Visit 2, mean age was 64.2 years, 60.1% were female and 55.6% were APOE-ε4 carriers. The dataset supports cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of preclinical AD risk profiles, biomarker patterns, cognition, behaviour and multimodal associations
References:
ALFA Study Design & Cohort
Molinuevo JL, Gramunt N, Gispert JD, Fauria K, Esteller M, Minguillon C, Sánchez-Benavides G, Huesa G, Morán S, Dal-Ré R, Camí J. The ALFA project: A research platform to identify early pathophysiological features of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions. 2016;2(2):82–92. doi:10.1016/j.trci.2016.02.003.
Biomarkers in the Preclinical Stage (ATN Status)
Milà-Alomà M, Salvadó G, Gispert JD, Vilor-Tejedor N, Grau-Rivera O, Sala-Vila A, Sánchez-Benavides G, Arenaza-Urquijo EM, Crous-Bou M, González-de-Echávarri JM, Minguillon C, Fauria K, Simon M, Kollmorgen G, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Suárez-Calvet M, Molinuevo JL; ALFA study. Amyloid beta, tau, synaptic, neurodegeneration, and glial biomarkers in the preclinical stage of the Alzheimer’s continuum. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2020;16(10):1358–1371. doi:10.1002/alz.12131.
PET Quantification (Centiloids)
Shekari M, Vállez García D, Collij LE, Altomare D, Heeman F, Pemberton H, Roé Vellvé N, Bullich S, Buckley C, Stephens A, Farrar G, Frisoni G, Klunk WE, Barkhof F, Gispert JD; ADNI & AMYPAD. Stress testing the Centiloid: Precision and variability of PET quantification of amyloid pathology. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2024;20(8):5102–5113. doi:10.1002/alz.13883.
Genetic enrichment of the ALFA cohort
Vilor-Tejedor N, Genius P, Rodríguez-Fernández B, Minguillón C, Sadeghi I, González-Escalante A, Crous-Bou M, Suárez-Calvet M, Grau-Rivera O, Brugulat-Serrat A, Sánchez-Benavides G, Esteller M, Fauria K, Molinuevo JL, Navarro A, Gispert JD; Alzheimer"s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative; ALFA study. Genetic characterization of the ALFA study: Uncovering genetic profiles in the Alzheimer"s continuum. Alzheimers Dement. 2024 Mar;20(3):1703-1715. doi: 10.1002/alz.13537. Epub 2023 Dec 13. PMID: 38088508; PMCID: PMC10984507.
Coverage
Spatial:
US
Follow Up:
Unknown
Provenance
Temporal
Accrual Periodicity:
Static
Start Date:
01 January 2026
Time Lag:
Not applicable
Accessibility
Access
Access Rights:
See dataset for details. Access data at:
Usage
Resource Creators:
Data Center Barcelonabeta;,;Data Request BarcelonaBeta
Observations
Statistical Population
Population Description
Population Size
Measured Property
Observation Date
Persons
419
Count
01 January 2026