Sample
Data were obtained from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database (adni.loni.usc.edu). The ADNI project was launched in 2003 as a public–private partnership, led by Principal Investigator Michael W. Weiner, MD. The primary goal of ADNI has been to investigate whether serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), other biological markers, and clinical and neuropsychological assessment can be combined to measure the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early Alzheimer’s disease (AD). ADNI consists of four study phases, and for the present study we included subjects across all these phases who according to ADNI’s criteria were defined as MCI at their baseline (first) assessment. The ADNI study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards at each participating ADNI site (see full list here:
