Major domain-specific tables and variables
While there are a lot of tables in the overall ADNI data set, there exists a smaller subset of tables that are produced, maintained, and updated by either internal ADNI investigative cores or labs that are funded through the ADNI to carry out their work.
These tables contain information on many of the most important measurements used in AD research. In this section we will highlight some of these tables and show investigators where to find them.
APOE Genotyping
The main APOE genotyping results tables are produced by the ADNI Genetics Core lab at the University of Indiana. It can be found on the IDA underneath the Biospecimens -> Biospecimen results heading.
This table consists of a standard set of structural identifiers (Phase, PTID, RID, and VISCODE), and a field indicating APOE genotype. Additional information was also included during the ADNI1 phase, but these fields are not populated for any of the subsequent phases.
APOE is polymorphic, with three common alleles: ε2, ε3, and ε4. In the table, participate genotype is recorded in the aptly named GENOTYPE field, where it is written using the notation n/m, with n ≤ m, to indicate the presence of one εn allele and one εm allele.
For example, a GENOTYPE value of 3/3 indicates that the participant carries two ε3 alleles, while a GENOTYPE value of either 3/4 indicates that the participant carries one ε3 allele and one ε4 allele. APOE ε4 homozygotes are indicated as 4/4, etc.
Amyloid and Tau PET numerical summaries
Important numerical summaries of amyloid and tau PET images are computed by the ADNI PET Core lab at UC Berkeley. These summaries include standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs), amyloid PET centiloids, and amyloid positivity determinations based on centiloid scale cutoffs.
The most up-to-date results are available in the UC Berkeley 6mm data sets, and which can be found on the IDA under Imaging -> PET image analysis, as indicated in the image below:
Documentation containing detailed information about processing methods, as well as usage guidance, is available in the same location.
Note that these tables contain analyses of images acquired using multiple tracers. SUVRs from different tracers are not directly comparable and should generally not be combined in the same analysis.
NACC Neuropathology form
Neuropathology findings obtained from post-mortem brain tissue can be found under the Neuropathology -> Neuropathology results heading on the IDA. Findings are assessed by the ADNI Neuropathology Core at Washington University.
Findings are formatted according to the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Centre (NACC) neuropathology data form version 10 or version 11.
Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR)
The clinical dementia rating is a well-validated assessment of cognitive decline that has been part of the ADNI battery for the entirety of the study.
Results - including item-level data, sum of box scores, domain scores, and CDR global scores, are available on the IDA under Assessments -> Neuropsychological
Note that the CDR is an important component of the ADNI diagnostic protocol. Analysts who are incorporating CDR results and diagnostic information in the same study should be mindful of this dependence.
CSF and plasma biomarkers
Assay results for major blood biomarkers AD, including amyloid beta 40 and 42, ptau 217, neurofilament light (NfL), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), are available from the ADNI Biomarker Core lab at the University of Pennsylvania.
The table containing the results of plasma assays can be found under the Biospecimen -> Biospecimen Results section of the IDA, as indicated here:
CSF assays carried out using the Roche Elecsys immunoassay platform are available under the same subheading:
