The Alzheimer's Disease Center (ADC) will continue to build upon the resources at Emory to support and foster the growth and quality of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since its inception in the fall of 1991, the ADC has energized the clinical and research activities of the Emory community. The addition of a Satellite Clinic in urban Atlanta has enabled the ADC to provide research, clinical, and educational opportunities to an underserved, predominantly African American community. The unparalleled clinical and research activities in movement disorders at Emory provide a valuable resource as the ADC examines the overlap and heterogeneity of AD, Parkinson's disease and related dementias. These themes are also synergistic with the unique contributions of Emory investigators in the field of mitochondrial genetics examining mitochondrial abnormalities in neurodegenerative and other disorders. The Administrative and Data Management Core will manage the overall ADC operation and provide the structural foundation for promotion of basic and clinical scientific research. Investigators from Emory Rollins School of Public Health with expertise in study design, data management, and biostatistics will assure quality and integration of data and promote productivity among ADC and other investigators. In a setting of quality patient care, family support, and education, the Clinical Core will provide well characterized groups of AD patients, Parkinson's disease patients with and without dementia, and normal individuals free of cognitive and motor impairment. The high proportion of African American subjects seen through the Clinical Core, paralleling that of our regional population, will enable us to obtain information on dementia in this understudied group. The Neuropathology Core will continue to supply brain and other appropriate tissues from well characterized dementia and control cases to investigators through maintenance of an active brain bank. The Molecular Biology Core will screen for mitochondrial and other genetic abnormalities associated with AD, PD and the overlap syndromes, on well characterized cases seen through the Clinical and Neuropathology cores. The Education and Transfer Core will develop and enhance its innovative educational programs for professionals, caregivers, and other groups. In combination with strong institutional support and the enormous growth of the neuroscience community at Emory, the ADC will serve as increasingly critical role in promoting AD research.
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