ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH CENTER

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The past four years have been a time of development and growth of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) at UAB. This application represents a request to continue our ADRC for an additional five years. This ADRC is composed of 5 Cores and 3 small projects. The Administrative Core will provide the implementation of all goals of the ADRC including budgets, meetings of the Executive and Internal and External Advisory Committees, enhancing visibility through pilot grants (i.e. bring new investigators to AD research), a monthly seminar series and interactions with other Alzheimer's Disease Centers. The Clinical Core will continue to follow previously recruited patients and recruit 30 controls, 30 mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 30 mild AD, and 30 Parkinson's Disease with dementia (PDD) patients annually. Annual neuropsychological assessments and arrangement for autopsy will be performed. The Data Management and Biostatistics Core will provide statistical consultation, data management and send all required information to the NACC. The Neuropathology Core will provide new techniques for diagnosis, process and store tissue (brain, CSF) and make these available to investigators at UAB and other institutions. The Education and Information Transfer Core will provide education to physicians, paraprofessionals and lay communities (with emphasis on African-Americans), maintain a Speakers Bureau, caregivers' newsletters, packets of information on AD, continue our annual CME courses with every other one done in conjunction with the Roybal Center, maintain our web page and disseminate ADRC research through multimedia. The 3 Projects are thematically linked by studying behavioral, longitudinal and functional change in AD, PDD and MCI patients and in caregivers. One Project will examine functional (e.g. driving) change in MCI patients as compared to normal older adults. A Second Project will examine the loss of medical decision making capacity in AD, PDD and controls. A Third Project will determine if interventions with caregivers while their "loved one" still has mild AD will improve caregivers' adjustment when their "loved one" progresses to moderate/severe AD. The Administration strongly supports the ADRC both philosophically and financially, paying the salary of the Administrator as well as renovating multiply areas for the ADRC. Continuation of an ADRC at UAB would allow us to continue both clinical and basic research efforts in AD and would allow us to expand into new research areas (e.g. PDD, MCI).