While brain imaging has been a long-standing strength of the UCD, ADC, the emergence of a Neuroimaging Core within the ADC reflects a growing realization that brain imaging is a useful scientific tool that should be routinely applied to the study of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and others dementing disorders. The addition of new personnel to the Center and the evolution of new research goals by scientists utilizing the ADC give further impetus to the development of this core. The Neuroimaging Core will support the Clinical and Neuropathology Cores in the evaluation of the factors that influence the expression and progression of AD by collecting a number of important neuroimaging variables. The Core will collect and store digital MRI data and films for use by the Clinical and Neuropathology Cores, associated research projects, and interested researchers. It will obtain MRI data using standardized acquisition protocols on patients in the longitudinal cohort. Semi-quantitative measures of cortical and hippocampal atrophy, ventricular size, white matter abnormalities and infarcts will be obtained for many subjects in the subject pool and all subjects in the longitudinal cohort, and quantitative measures of hippocampal volume and white matter hyperintensity volume will also be made for all subjects in the longitudinal cohort. These measures will be stored in the database for use by ongoing research projects and as resource for researchers. In addition. The Core will develop new techniques for the analysis for both structural and functional brain changes associated aging and dementia. These activities will support both the goals of the ADC and numerous associated research projects.
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