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4. VALLECAS PROJECT
mary endpoint of the test is the body position in re- 4.3.6. Neuropsychiatric Examination
lation to space and the body.
Psychiatric symptoms are part of the evolution of de-
Imitation of bilateral postures mentia. The concept of "behavioral and psycholo-
(Revised Barcelona Test) gical symptoms of dementia" (BPSD) refers to all
those psychiatric manifestations and behaviors that
This test consists in the imitation by the subject of a may occur in the context of cognitive impairment or
number of postures that the examiner performed dementia.
with both hands. This test evaluates the integrity of
ideomotor praxis. According to various studies, these BPSD could not
only manifest themselves in the phase of already es-
Rule Change (Behavioral Assessment of the tablished dementia, but may also appear in prodro-
Dysexecutive Syndrome BADS subtest) mal stages or even in preclinical stages prior to
cognitive decline.
This test involves the presentation of a sequence of
21 cards from the French card deck. The subject Specifically, in recent years the interest in both de-
must respond "yes" or "no" as fast as he/she can and pressive symptoms and apathy in the absence of
as accurately as possible according to a rule that is depression has increased, in order to establish their
in plain view. In the first part of the test rule is to res- relationship with the development of dementia. The
pond "yes" when the card is red and "no" when is Vallecas Project includes a specific exploration of
black. The second part introduces a variation of the both major psychiatric disorders as the most com-
first rule that the subject must respond "yes" when the mon BPSD to collect more information regarding the
card is the same color as above and "no" when it is factors related to the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
a different color. The number of errors made by the
subject in the second part of the test is registered 4.3.7. Identification of biomarkers
and the score based on such errors is recorded. This
test assesses the ability to fulfill one simple rule and It is currently widely accepted that the molecular
the subject flexibility to adapt to a new different rule. changes associated with AD, including the forma-
tion of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles
Test of the five points: This is a test that measures begin many years before the appearance of clini-
the subject's cognitive flexibility regarding the cal symptoms. It has been a great interest of the
ability to design novel visual shapes scientific community during recent years in the de-
velopment of new biomarkers of AD and its utility in
A DIN A4 sheet of paper with 40 identical matrices risk assessment and early diagnosis of the disease.
of 5 dots arranged in eight rows and five columns is-
provided. The subject's task is to produce for 3 minu- Thus, blood samples will be collected within the Va-
tes as many figures as possible by connecting the llecas Project for the study of a number of genetic
dots within each matrix and the following rules: i) the and biochemical markers. Samples are obtained
figures may not be repeated; ii) only straight lines in according to the protocol "Collection and Proces-
any direction (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) can sing of Human Blood Samples in the Vallecas Project"
be used to connect the dots; and iii) it is not neces- and processed to obtain the fractions indicated in
sary to join the 5 points of the matrix. the protocol, which will be stored at -80 ° C. On one
CIEN Foundation Annual Report 2015 / 79
