The Clinical Core of this proposed ADRC will allow us to draw upon our experience in cross-cultural research with Hispanic and non-Hispanic elderly to recruit and to follow for at least five years, 1000 subjects who are cognitively normal, have mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. Recruitment and longitudinal follow-up of these subjects will meet the needs of the proposed clinical research projects in this ADRC, as well as further other research and developmental projects that will occur during the project period. This Core will make full use of existing community cognitive screening programs, operated by the state-funded memory disorders clinics, as well as the clinics, so as to recruit, comprehensively evaluate and follow up longitudinally subjects who represent the ethnic, language and cultural diversity of Florida. A special focus on recruiting Spanish speaking subjects will be a feature of th is core. Our recruitment strategy will allow normal subjects who are at heightened risk for developing cognitve impairment in the future, as well as MCI and mild dementia subjects to be included. Evaluations will occur at two Clinical Research Centers located at the University of South Florida School of Medicine/ Byrd Institute and the Wien Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach/University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami. All subjects (i.e., cognitively normal and impaired) who are recruited will be actively encouraged to enroll for autopsy. This core will interact closely with the Data Management, Education and Pathology Cores and with Projects 1 and 2, so as to further the goals of this ADRC. A unique aspect of this Clinical Core is that NIA funds will be supplemented by the State of Florida, administered by the Byrd Institute, allowing such procedures as MRI scans to conducted on all 1000 participants.This will greatly expand both the quality and scope of work that can be performed by the ADRC, which will become a hub to further develop and to support research and collaboration in the areas of early diagnosis and intervention of neurodegenerative diseases as well as the promotion of healthy aging among both Hispanic versus non-Hispanic elders.
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