The Clinical Core of the Columbia University Alzheimer Disease Research Center (ADRC) provides comprehensive assessment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementia for a diverse population of individuals. In the communities of Washington Heights-Inwood and Harlem we act as a resource for the communities and physicians involved in primary care. In the tri-state are (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) we are a resource in specialty care for patients with memory disorders. Thus, we are able to enroll patients and controls into the Clinical Core from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds. We use standardized medical, neurological and neuropsychological assessments to elicit the functional and medical information required for the diagnosis of dementia. Our neuropsychological battery has been used for over 5,000 evaluations in our ADRC. The Core Consensus Conference reviews and establishes all diagnoses and is used to identify patients to be enrolled into various projects. The Columbia ADRC Clinical Core is responsive to current needs in AD research, providing investigators with well characterized patients with AD and controls. Our studies examine the genetic aspects of AD, clinical course and predictors of decline, quantifying and treating behavioral aspects of AD and early detection of AD and early detection of AD. With treatment of AD a priority, we have invariably met patient enrollment goals for our site in collaborative multi-center therapeutic trials. Our comprehensive and standardized database allows sharing of data with other Alzheimer's Disease Centers and local and federal agencies. In this renewed effort, we proposed to continue the previous aims by using standardized methods of evaluation to provide a well-characterized cohort of patients with AD and dementia-free controls whom we will follow annually and recruit into clinical treatment and other protocols. Working with the Pathology Core, we will obtain tissue samples to examine pathologic and genetic correlates of AD and normal aging. The Data Coordinating Center of the Clinical Core will enter and maintains all ADRC information for access for research and statistical purposes, provide biostatistical consulting to ADRC investigators, and will coordinate data-sharing with the proposed Alzheimer's Disease Data Coordinating Center (ADDCC).
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