The goal of the Clinical Core is to provide clinical resources to facilitate high quality clinical, neuropsychological, epidemiological and neuropathological research in Alzheimer's disease. There are three major operational components in the Clinical Core: 1) A uniform structured baseline clinical evaluation classifies subjects as to the presence or absence of Alzheimer's disease, collects initial psychometric, behavioral and physical function data for comparison with subsequent evaluations to permit measurement of change in these variables, and provides investigators with a uniform and comprehensive description of these variables to ensure a uniform common data set across a wide range of ongoing and future externally funded studies. 2) The branched annual follow-up evaluation was designed to achieve two general purposes. First, to provide a source of well characterized cases and controls with clinical status documented proximate to death to facilitate neuropathological studies. Second, to provide a pool of subjects for studies. 3) To efficiently distribute subjects into clinical, neuropsychological, epidemiological and neuropathological studies, consecutive subjects evaluated by the Core, determined to be eligible for one or more of a variety of externally funded studies will be recruited in a manner which minimizes the burden of studies on patients, their families and staff. To meet these goals, the Clinical Core will build on its successes during the first project period. From March 2, 1992 though August 15, 1995, 1837 persons underwent highly structured uniform clinical evaluations by the Clinical Core. Of these persons, 896 (48.8%) were distributed into in one or more of 20 externally funded studies, including studies requiring large numbers of persons with varying diagnoses across a wide range dementia severity to studies with highly restrictive entry requirements. Minority participation was also high; minorities comprised 18.1% of Clinical Core subjects and 19.2% of study participants.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 786 publications
