The CNS HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER) was funded in 2002 with the aim of exploring the changing presentation of HIV neurological complications in the context of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). The six performance sites of CHARTER (Johns Hopkins University, Mt. Sinai Medical School, University of California at San Diego, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, University of Washington, Washington University at St. Louis), were able to standardize neuromedical, neuropsychological, psychiatric, neuropathy, and imaging protocols along with on-going quality assurance procedures. Two key conclusions to emerge from the CHARTER project are that HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND) and peripheral neuropathy remain highly prevalent despite effective HIV treatments that have significantly reduced mortality and non-neurologic morbidities. The CHARTER project has accumulated invaluable clinical and research data with longitudinal data being collected on 674 participants. Data includes neuromedical characterization, neuropsychological functioning, psychiatric and drug abuse variables, treatment data, brain imaging, and viral and host genetics information. Each CHARTER visit generates approximately 4000 individual variables;currently the database contains over 5 million data points. A key component of the CHARTER project is to serve as a catalyst for additional studies and analyses by making this wealth of samples and data available to investigators. In order to continue to make samples and data sets available to the NeuroAIDS community, ?CHARTER as a Resource? will be enhanced with the following;1) CHARTER Imaging Utilities;2) Document Collaboration Utilities to facilitate cross institutional collaboration (e.g., check-in/check-out systems, change tracking and automated document back-ups);3) User Management Enhancements (e.g., access to warehoused data and community based utilities to foster cross institutional collaboration);and 4) Data Dictionary Enhancements. In addition, CHARTER as a Resource will solicit feedback from users to further enhance the Resource utilities. These enhancements will complement carefully constructed and established mechanisms for a) announcing the availability of the resource, b) soliciting requests, c) facilitating scientific review of all requests, and d) processing and distributing samples and data to scientific requestors.
