CORE: Clinical Core B Core Leader: Daniel Weintraub Core Investigators: Lama Chahine, Nabila Dahodwala, James F Morley, Alice Chen-Plotkin Project Summary/Abstract Clinical Core B of this NINDS Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Center of Excellence (Udall Center) at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) Perelman School of Medicine will be crucial to accomplishing the goals of this multidisciplinary research program. The overarching theme of this UPenn Udall renewal is to elucidate mechanisms of alpha-synuclein (a-syn) mediated progression, heterogeneity and neurodegeneration linked to distinct a-syn strains in Lewy body disorders (LBD) and related synucleinopathies, as well as to advance assessment and treatment towards a precision medicine approach for these disorders. The primary goals of our Udall Center are to elucidate mechanisms of progressive neurodegeneration, with a focus on cognition and other non-motor symptoms, in LBD and related synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease (PD) without and with dementia (PDD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA), that we hypothesize are linked to different a-syn strains. Core B primary aims are to: (1) recruit, retain and assess research participants for Udall projects I-IV by utilizing NINDS-recommended Common Data Elements (CDEs) and entering/uploading data into the Data Management Resource (DMR) using the Protocol and Forms Research Management System (ProFoRMS); (2) collaborate with Core A to educate the medical community and general public on LBD/MSA and related disorders, and to train the next generation of PD clinical and translational researchers; (3) collaborate with Core C to recruit existing Udall participants with LBD/MSA and related disorders for brain donation, and to assess them longitudinally antemortem to optimize clinicopathological correlations, and, as required, to send collected biosamples to NINDS Biospecimen Exchange for Neurological Disorders or Diseases (BioSEND); and (4) collaborate with Core D to contribute high-quality clinical and biomarker data to the UPenn Integrated NeuroDegenerative Disease Database (INDD), determine the most appropriate data analyses for all clinically-oriented studies, and facilitate sharing of clinical and biomarker data within and outside of UPenn.
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