: ? ? This application represents the renewal of National Neurological AIDS Bank (NNAB), a member of the National Neuro-AIDS Tissue Consortium (NNTC). NNAB is a longitudinal study of well-characterized subjects with AIDS and HIV-seronegative subjects, who have agreed to be examined and to donate blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) during their life, and their organs and tissues after death. NNAB collects and distributes these tissues to qualified investigators for research into the pathogenesis of Neuro-AIDS. NNAB characterizes subjects using NNTC protocols in Neuromedicine, Neuropsychology, Psychiatry/Substance Abuse, and Neuropathology, to achieve standardized diagnoses monitored by NNTC Quality Assurance Committees. NNAB independently collects information that is essential to study the association between co-morbid medical conditions, such as Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection, hypertension, diabetes, lipid disorders and other metabolic abnormalities, and HIV neurological disease. The NNAB cohort is extraordinarily diverse, reflecting the gender, ethnic and racial distribution of AIDS in Los Angeles. NNAB has 84% male, 15% female, and 1% transgender subjects; over 60% of this sample consists of racial and ethnic minorities; 20% are monolingual in Spanish, 20% are over age 50, and 10% have less than a 6th grade education. In this renewal, NNAB plans to expand our cohort by collaborations with investigators at University of Hawaii who have many Asian-Pacific subjects, and the Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science, which is rich in African-American and women subjects. NNAB has developed independent projects studying CSF viral load, HCV and the nervous system, and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS). These projects further enrich the value of our specimens. NNAB continues to provide an increasingly important resource that mirrors the changing face of AIDS, and is capable of adapting as the needs of investigators dictate. NNAB provides an invaluable contribution to the NNTC, the scientific community, and people living with HIV/AIDS. ? ?
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