The overall mission of the Oregon Alzheimer Disease Center (OADC) is to facilitate and advance research in Alzheimer disease (AD) and related dementias. This will be achieved by maintaining 6 Core facilities in association with expert Core personnel to support both current research strengths, as well as be responsive to the developing potential of new knowledge and discoveries in the field. The Center is organized and coordinated by the Administrative Core to be an efficient unit, working in concert with the research community to facilitate investigations in several major thematic areas such as studies of preclinical or incipient dementia in the very elderly, the genetics of AD, and the relationship between AD and Parkinson disease. The Clinical Core provides well-characterized, longitudinally followed research subjects of several kinds: 1) AD and related dementias; 2) Healthy elderly at high risk for developing dementia, emphasing those older than 85 years of age; 3) Parkinson dementias; and 4) Subjects reflecting social and racial diversity (African American, Native American, and isolated rural populations) in the context of gender differences. The Clinical Core and its subject resources are linked to the Neuropathology Core through programs designed to enhance tissue donation. The Neuropathology Core uses state-of-the-art biochemical, histopathologic and morphometric techniques to characterize donated tissues which in turn are utilized by a diverse array of basic and molecular scientists both locally and nationally. The Genetics Core responds to the needs of both Clinical and Neuropathology Cores and their missions of sophisticated characterization of research subjects and tissues by family history and genotype. The Genetics Core is also responsive to basic scientists in its potential ability to facilitate study of candidate genes causing AD or genes which are protective and promote successful aging. Linking all these units is the Data Management Core which maintains an efficient relational database containing a unique catalogue record system which allows easy revision and modification of protocols as is inevitable in any longitudinal program. The Data Management Core further provides important assistance and advice in design and statistical analysis to investigators beginning to develop new projects. Finally, the information and knowledge of the field is disseminated through the Education and Information Transfer Core. This Core provides regular educational forums of many types ranging from small seminars and lectures to interactive television broadcasts. New research is encouraged by the pilot project program. Four pilot projects are proposed for year 06 addressing the following topics: 1) estrogen and trk receptors in non- human primates; 2) gender differences in cognition and AD; glucose transporter deficit in AD; and 4) somatostatin's role in neurodegeneration through a gene 'knock-out' mouse model.
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