The main objective of the Neuroimaging Core is to support for the uniform clinical diagnosis of ADCC patients and to assist the neuropathology core in the identification of brain regions that are diagnostic and research interest. The core will develop and provide standard image acquisition and image analysis protocols for funded and prospective imaging projects. These user-friendly procedures include: reading, archiving, reformatting, and anatomical sampling of the scans. The core promotes the development of new research opportunities and is actively in the training of new investigators. The core creates and maintains multiple imaging databases across all levels of image acquisition and data analysis. Together with the clinical and data management cores, the neuroimaging core maintains a patient and control subject database that is routinely used in new research and in longitudinal studies. The imaging core supports the network of image analysis hardware, the continued development of the dedicated image analysis software (MIDAS), and the network of PC's used in the data reduction. During the 6 years of operation, the core has developed and supported the use of standardized high resolution MRI protocol and a uniform PET- FDG protocol. Since 1995, the core has contributed to the standardized MRI observation of 922 AD research patients and controls. During this period, 110 PET-FDG scans were co-registered to MRI scans and 46 post-mortem MRI scans were obtained in conjunction with the neuropathology core. In the current funding cycle, these image acquisition and analysis protocols have extensively used to longitudinally study the hippocampal formation in aging and AD. This has led to a major contribution in understanding the early diagnosis of AD. The combination of post mortem MRI scanning with quantitative histological studies has contributed to the first anatomic validations of MRI hippocampal formation measures used in AD research. In the past cycle the core developed and brought into routine use several innovative and important image analysis tools. These tools include a working image coregistration protocol, 3D region of interest marking and reslicing, improved sequences for MRI volume, fMRI, and MRS studies. These efforts have contributed to 49 publications during the current funding cycle and 15 collaborative NIH grant awards. Many new clinical, neuropathology and technical projects have been initiated. The core has continued its long established tradition of training new investigators and this is now extended to several other institutional settings with 2 funded KO8 awards. In collaboration with Dr. Hetherington of the Brookhaven National Laboratory the core has begun to develop MRI-spectroscopy protocols to complement our on-going NIA funded PET-FDG studies in AD. The staff of the core are learning to conduct MRS experiments and to analyze 31P MRS (spectroscopy) data. Planned experiments the aging brain's gluco-regulatory responses to challenge using MRS at 4T.
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