The Clinical Core serves as the central source of research subjects for the ADCC. Its primary function is to provide ADCC associated research projects and pilot studies with well-diagnosed subjects and with clinical materials (e.g., blood, CSF, etc.). The Clinical Core includes a Satellite Multicultural Clinic (SMC), which focuses on minority recruitment. The Core population currently includes more than 3,200 cases consisting of patients with AD, other dementias, mild cognitive impairment, NPH, and type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as normal adult subjects. About 150 to 200 new subjects are added to the Core annually. The population is reassessed longitudinally and tracked to autopsy. All data are included in a central database maintained by the Statistical and Data Management Core. During the past five years the Clinical Core has more than achieved its specific aims. From 1999 to 2003, 1,032 new patients and 1,460 follow-up evaluations were completed. Most Core subjects participate in various research protocols. Since 1999, more than 25 separate federally funded research grants have utilized Clinical Core resources. The Core helps support a Clinical Trials Unit which participates in the multicenter NIA-Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study and since 1999, the Core has participated in more than 20 NIH and industry sponsored pharmacologic trials. The Core also maintains a CSF bank and a serum/DNA bank and has close interactions with all of the other ADCC Cores. With renewal, we propose to focus the Clinical Core on the transition between normal cognition and mild cognitive impairments. We will continue to follow-up enrolled patients. Such an effort will support our current portfolio of NIH grants and enable us to target therapeutic prevention trials.
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