The purpose of the Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Center (BU ADC) is to promote research on Alzheimer's Disease (AD) at BU and throughout the country by providing information and materials from well characterized patient, control and caregiver populations drawn from the ambulatory and late-stage suburban population at the Bedord VA Medical Center and the racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse poor urban Registry of the Clinical Core are assessed annually with a standardized neurological examination and neuropsychological test battery. Blood is obtained and stored for molecular genetic studies. A detailed family neuropsychological test battery. Blood is obtained and stored for molecular genetic studies. A detailed family history is obtained and a separate Caregiver Registry collects annual standardized information on family and professional caregivers. This information is entered into a database for longitudinal comparisons and correlation with the progression of AD and its impact on caregivers. Subjects, data and blood/DNA are made available to qualified researchers to stimulate new research in AD and normal aging. The Neuropathology Core establishes accurate pathological diagnoses, rigorous documentation and quantitation of neuropathological changes, harvests endothelial cells, and collects, stores and disburses post-mortem tissue. The Education and Information Transfer Core supports the development of physicians and other professional caregivers to improve clinical and research skills related to AD and provide outreach programs to increase caregivers' and the lay public's knowledge of AD. Nationally, this Core collaborates with other ADCs, ADEAR Center, Alzheimer Association and other groups to advance AD care, education, and research. The Murine Breeding and Molecular Genetics Core maintains a transgenic mouse colony as well as several colonies of mice with AD-related phenotypes including: 1) increased or decreased susceptibility to oxidative injury 2) Calreticulin Knockout mice 3) over expression or under expression of APOE. This comprehensive breeding facility is a unique resource for investigators. The BU ADC funds pilot projects to promote new AD research and fosters the development of new AD investigators. These multiple activities are coordinated by the Administrative Core. The BU ADC has greatly strengthened and expanded AD research at BU and has facilitated the involvement of African Americans in aging and dementia research. The BU ADC has promoted and supported AD research on a comprehensive range of topics including pathogenesis, animal models, neuropathology, genetic and environmental risk and protective factors, late-stage dementia, and the impact of disease burden on caregivers and society.
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