The CIMA-Q Data Bank and Biological Sample Bank

The CIMA-Q Data Bank and Biological Sample Bank are a structured resource bringing together sociodemographic information, results of neuropsychological, neuropsychiatric and clinical evaluations (including complete blood tests), as well as biological samples. These data come from healthy adult participants, participants with cognitive impairment (subjective or mild), or participants with Alzheimer’s dementia.

Collected over more than 10 years from the CIMA-Q cohort, this valuable data is made available to researchers interested in Alzheimer’s disease and related diseases.

Detailed CIMA-Q Project Protocol (2022-12-15)

Data dictionary (March 2026)

Demographics and diagnosis (March 2026)

Publications (June 2026)

How to access the Data Bank and the Biological Sample Bank

1.

Become a member of the Consortium

You must be a member of the Consortium for the Early Identification of Alzheimer’s Disease – Quebec (CIMA-Q) to access the CIMA-Q Bank.

Membership form to complete: Form

2.

Obtain ethical approval

Before submitting your access request, make sure you have ethical approval (university CER or Santé Québec) related to the project for which you are requesting access to CIMA-Q data.

Important: The ethics approval number must be submitted to the Data Bank manager to access the data.

3.

Complete the required documents

Appendix K: Research project description form (including required additional documents).
User(s) agreement: To be completed and signed by the principal investigator and the administrative representative of his institution.

Appendices B1 and B3: Mandatory for all access requests.

Appendix B2: Required only for requests for access to biological material.

4.

Submit your request

Submit your documents to the User Access Committee (CAU) at the following address: cimaq@criugm.qc.ca CAU Coordinator: Isabel Arsenaul, interim head of the CAU Ms. Isabel Arsenault

5.

Evaluation of your request

The CAU will evaluate your request within a week of receipt of the complete file. Three possible statuses:

Access granted → Transmission of the file to the CIMA-Q Executive Committee for final approval.

Access granted under conditions → Additional documents or information will be required.

Access denied

6.

Final validation

Once the user agreements have been signed by the administrative manager of the CIUSSS CS MTL, the Executive Committee will issue the final approval letter.

7.

Access to data and biological material

Access to data (clinical, sociodemographic, biological, neuropsychological, neuroimaging)

Contact the CIMA-Q Database manager to obtain your access codes:  Isabel.Arsenault.ccsmtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca

Data Bank Coordinator:

Isabel Arsenault: Isabel.Arsenault.ccsmtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca

Access to biological material

Contact the Biobank coordinator: Isabel Arsenault: Isabel.Arsenault.ccsmtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca

 

Important note

Access to biological material is reserved for CIMA-Q members from Quebec. If you are outside Quebec, ask the CAU about the possibilities of collaboration with a Quebec researcher.

As of March 2026:
PARTICIPANTS: 423 +
M :35 % F: 65 %

Controls (C): 68
Subjective cognitive decline (SCD): 181
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI): 137
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD): 37

FULL ASSESSMENT
*Clinical assessment + neuropsychological assessment + bloodwork + blood sample collection

Initial assessments: 423

Follow-up of full assessments: 946

Participants with at least 1 follow-up assessment after baseline: N = 250

89 participants completed 1 follow-up assessment

51 participants completed 2 follow-up assessments

50 participants completed 3 follow-up assessments

41 participants completed 4 follow-up assessments

19 participants completed 5 follow-up assessments

Total full assessments completed over 11+ years N = 1023 (initial + follow-up assessments)

NEUROIMAGING

Total MRI sessions completed over 11+ years: 573

Participants with at least one MRI assessment: N = 307

132 participants completed 1 MRI

81 participants completed 2 MRIs

30 participants completed 3 MRIs

25 participants completed 4 MRIs

13 participants completed 5 MRIs

4 participants completed 6 MRIs

FDG-PET imaging

Total FDG-PET scans completed: 29

BIOSAMPLES

Blood samples: 20,000+

CSF samples (60 participants): 6,000+

CSF samples from young controls: coming soon

+ Genetic data available

BRAIN BANK

10 brains with neuropathology reports and analysis

+ Tissue samples available

All Data and Biomaterial available in the CIMA-Q bank

CLINICAL ASSESSMENT

NURSE AND MEDICAL DOCTOR ASSESSMENT

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Nationality, marital status, language, social support network, income, level of education, occupation, retirement, volunteering and activities…

COGNITION

  1. MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment)
  2. Telephone-Mini Mental State Examination (T-MMSE)
  3. Logical Memory test from the Wechsler Memory Scale (short story, immediate and delayed recall)
  4. Cognitive complaint question (Jessen)
  5. Clinical diagnosis

COGNITIVE RESERVE

  1. Cognitive reserve questionnaire (Bartrés score)
  2. Questions on bilingualism

FUNCTIONAL HABILITIES

  1. Alzheimer’s disease cooperative study (ADCS) – Activities of Daily Living questionnaire
  2. Physical self-maintenance scale (PSMS)
  3. Score – Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR)

NUTRITION

  1. Mini Nutritional Assessment® SF

GENDER IDENTITY

  1. Question on gender identity

PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS

  1. Apathy Inventory (AI)
  2. Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI-Q)
  3.  PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire)
  4. Mild Behavioral Impairment Checklist (MBI-C)

CHRONIC PAIN

  1. Chronic pain Self-Assessment

HEALTH SELF-ASSESSMENT

  1. Health and well-being survey (SF-36)
  2. Health status and auto perception of health status

SLEEP

  1. Chronic insomnia
  2.  Sleep apnea (+ Stop Bang)
  3. REM sleep disorders

SMELL

  1. Olfactive capacity test (UPSIT)

VITALS SIGNS AND PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS

  1. Resting state blood pressure
  2. Orthostatic change
  3. Anthropometric measures
  4. Grip strength
  5. Walking speed

MEDICAL HISTORY

  1. Medical history
  2.  Family history of dementia
  3. Alcohol and other drug use
  4. History and evolution: cognitive complaint
  5. Surgical history
  6. Personal psychiatric history
  7. Psychiatric history of the family
  8. Allergies

NEUROLOGICAL EXAMINATION

  1. Level of consciousness
  2. Cranial nerves
  3. Nervous system
  4. Cerebellar functions
  5. Gait

EVALUATION SCALES

  1. Charlson Score
  2.  Hachinski Ischemic Scale
  3. Fried frailty index

COMPLETE PHYSICAL EXAM

Including a blood test and a haematological profile

MEDICATION

  1. List of current medication

COVID-19

  1. History of infection and vaccination

STUDY PARTNER QUESTIONNAIRES

  1. Cognitive complaint question (Jessen)
  2. Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI-Q),
  3. Apathy Inventory (AI)
  4. Questionnaire relating to activities of daily living (ADCS-PI)
  5. Mild Behavioral Impairment Checklist (MBI-C)

NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL, NEUROPSYCHIATRIC AND PSYCHOSOCIAL ASSESSMENT

EPISODIC MEMORY

  1. Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Task (RAVLT)
  2. Face-Name memory test (associative episodic memory)
  3. Cued recall from Memoria

PROSPECTIVE MEMORY

  1. Envelope Task

SEMANTIC PERCEPTION

  1. Object Decision test (BORB)

VISUAL DISCRIMINATION

  1. Visual Perception line orientation test (BORB)

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

  1. Stroop-D-KEFS (4 conditions)
  2. Trail making test A and B
  3. Computerized Hayling task
  4. Digit Symbol test (WAIS-III)
  5. Alpha-span (short form)

LANGUAGE

  1. Verbal fluency (category – animals)
  2. Boston Naming Test
  3. Vocabulary test (WAIS-III)

PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS

  1. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-30)
  2. Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI)
  3. Apathy inventory (participant)

COGNITIVE COMPLAINT

  1. Cognitive Change Index (CCI)
  2. Memory auto-administered questionnaire (QAM, short form)

PSYCHOSOCIAL

  1. Siegrist’s Questionnaire (effort-reward imbalance at work)
  2. Karasek’s Questionnaire (Work related stress)

SLEEP

  1. Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)
  2.  Epworth Sleepiness Scale
  3. Sleep quality questionnaire

DEMENTIA LITERACY

  1. Knowledge about Alzheimer’s disease
  2. Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS)
  3. Perception Regarding Investigational Screening for Memory in Primary Care (PRISM)

EXPERTISE

  1. Mobile Device Proficiency
  2. Technology experience profile

MRI ASSESSMENT

ANATOMICAL: 3DT1w
PATHOLOGICAL: PD and T2w
VASCULAR: Flair and T2*

CONNECTIVITY / FUNCTIONAL:

  1. 30-direction DTI
  2. Resting state BOLD
  3. Task related activation
And PET SCANS (29 scans) 

BLOOD BIOSAMPLES

  1. Plasma
  2. Serum
  3. Red blood cells
  4. PBMCs / iPSC / iPSC-derived neurons
  5. DNA / Buffy coat
  6. RNA

RESULTS:

  1. p-Tau 181 / p-Tau 231
  2. Apo E genotype
  3. BDNF mRNA (80 participants)

CSF BIOSAMPLES

RESULTS (60 participants):

  1. Aβ40 / Aβ42 / Aβ38
  2. Total Tau 

BRAIN BANK

4 brains

PLANNED ANALYSIS :

  1. Thal phases of Aβ deposits
  2. Braak Scale of neurofibrillary degeneration and Tau
  3. Detailed vascular pathology
  4. CERAD score for neuritic plaques
  5. Braak Scale (α-synuclein/Lewy bodies)
  6. Protein Transactive Response DNA-binding protein-43 (including LATE)
  7. Diagnosis

Data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown

Through a collaboration, the cognitively healthy CIMA-Q participants were interviewed during the first lockdown regarding parameters suspected to be modified by the sanitary measures and the COVID-19 pandemic. The following set of questionnaires assessed COVID-19-related stress, psychiatric symptoms, subjective cognitive complaints, changes in social, cognitive, and physical stimulation, as well as adherence to social distancing recommendations.

  1. Socio-demographic information
  2. T-MMSE
  3. COVID-19 restrictions
  4. COVID-19 virus
  5. Social distancing recommandations
  6. Social network
  7. Changes in sleep routine
  8. Sleep habits
  9. Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)
  1. Physical activity
  2. Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI)
  3. Problems and symptoms related to the pandemic
  4. Self-perception of health
  5. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-30)
  6. Question on memory (Jessen)
  7. Short QAM
  8. Pain Self-Assessment Questionnaire (short form)
  9. Alcohol and drug use