The University of California, Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center (UCD ACD) has evolved to focus upon the scientific theme of understanding factors that influence the expression and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with the particular goal of understanding how cerebrovascular disease and minority ethnicity interact with the AD. This theme has developed as the research projects associated with the AD in the previous funding cycle resulted in new ways of thinking that have informed ADC activities. In addition, the ADC will continues its long- term commitment to supporting and developing the general field of AD research at UC Davis and throughout Northern California. The ADC is composed of six cores: Administrative, Clinical, Education and Information Transfer (EITC), Neuropathology, Biostatistics and Data Management, and Neuroimaging. The Administrative Core provides overall guidance for scientific, policy, and procedural aspects of the ADC in addition to ensuring collaboration and communication throughout the ADC program. The Clinical Core will evaluate patients and controls to provide two key resources: a large subject pool of AD patients with research diagnostic evaluations who are available for recruitment into specific studies, especially cross sectional studies, and a longitudinally followed cohort of AD patients emphasizing coexisting cerebrovascular disease, African American or Hispanic ethnicity who are annually evaluated, and followed to autopsy. Two already effective satellite clinics will employ a screening approach to augment minority patient recruitment. The Neuropathology Core will perform brain retrieval for subjects in the longitudinal cohort who have enrolled in the autopsy program, will characterize the extent and severity of Alzheimer and cerebrovascular pathology, and maintain and bank of fixed and frozen tissue and DNA. The EITC will provide education to both the community and professionals, as well as assist in recruitment of minority subjects to the longitudinal cohort. The Neuroimaging Core will acquire MRI data on members of the longitudinal cohort and provide quantitative and semi- quantitative data on white matter hyperintensities, hippocampal atrophy , and cerebral atrophy. The Biostatistics and Data Management core will provide both statistical support and consulting to ADC research, and will maintain the already operational database that links all components of the ADC to one another to facilitate cross disciplinary research and reporting requirements.
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