This is a proposal to renew the funding of the Alzheimer?s Disease Center (ADC) at Northwestern University. According to the Alzheimer?s Association, more than 80,000 individuals in the Chicago area suffer from AD and other dementias. The Northwestern ADC was established in 1996 to serve this population and give it better access to clinical and research programs related to dementia. In the past 4 years, the Clinical Core has evaluated 1970 subjects and hosted nearly 6000 patient visits. The Neuropathology Core has acquired 137 brains and 540 DNA specimens which are being used by 88 research projects. The Northwestern ADC has joined 5 consortia of NIA funded centers, and constructed a prize-winning AD website which attracts nearly 15,000 visits per month. Northwestern University has granted the ADC an autonomous multi-departmental status with a direct reporting relationship to the Dean, set aside nearly 6000 square feet of space for its research and clinical use, and launched a $5M campaign to support new programs. Fifty faculty members from 15 departments at Northwestern have over $7.4M of direct funding for the year 1999-2000 in areas related to AD and have authored more than 200 publications in this area of research in the past 4 years. During the next 5-year cycle, the Administrative Core will provide leadership, central coordination, and fiscal management for the ADC and will attract new talent to this area of research through its pilot grants program. The Clinical Core will register neuropsychologically characterized patients and controls within the context of """"""""therapeutic encounters"""""""" and will establish """"""""dementia profiles"""""""" to be used for clinicopathological correlations. The Neuropathology Core will enable timely autopsies and definitive microscopic diagnoses. Through the availability of a stereological facility and whole-hemisphere sectioning, the Neuropathology core will create an infrastructure to facilitate research where molecular insights and clinical patterns need to be correlated with the system-level distribution of neuropathological markers. The Education Core will coordinate intra- and extra-mural educational activities with a special focus on primary providers caring for underserved minorities. Community outreach programs serving the African-American and Hispanic populations will be expanded. Through the publication of quarterly newsletters, regional Memory Health Fairs, and Town Hall meetings, the Education Core will continue to develop mutually beneficial communication channels with the community served at this ADC.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 443 publications
