The essence of the overall OADC mission -- facilitation and advancement of research in Alzheimer disease (AD) and dementia -- will be achieved by the establishment of a new core, the """"""""Genetics Core,"""""""" organized to support current research strengths as well as respond to the developing potential of new discoveries in the field. The major themes of the research supported by the Genetics Core are: AD pathogenesis; healthy aging of the brain; Parkinson dementia; and gender and ethnic differences in AD and healthy aging. Within this context, the Genetics Core's specific aims are: (1) to provide continuously updated genetic information (i.e., documented family history, genotype, and banking of DNA and plasma) for the five key cohorts enrolled in the OADC, including AD patients, healthy elderly, Native-American elderly, African-American AD subjects, and Parkinson patients; (2) to bridge basic science and clinical research by providing basic scientists with a detailed genetic characterization of the OADC post-mortem tissue, DNA samples from OADC subjects, and facilities and expertise to test for genetic linkage and association between AD and their molecules of interest (CNTF, CNTF receptor, acidic and basic FGF, FGF receptors 1-4, K+ channels, and others in the future); (3) to support ongoing collaborative genetic studies with the Seattle and the UCLA ADC's including genetic linkage studies of familial AD kindreds, examining the effects of HLA, ApoE, and gender on the age at onset of AD; (4) to collaborate with the OHSU Clinical Genetics Program and the OHSU DNA Diagnostic Laboratory to provide genetic counseling and risk assessment to the public; and (5) to participate in educational programs of the Education and Information Transfer Core and of the Alzheimer Association. The collaborations outlined above are funded independently. The contributions of the OADC Genetics Core to the collaborative research projects will be documented family histories, genotypes, and DNA and plasma from OADC subjects. Similarly, the public service programs for genetic counseling and testing will be financially independent of the OADC but will have close scientific ties with OADC investigators.
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