Biomarkers of Cognitive Decline among Normal Individuals: the BIOCARD cohort

这是对RFA # RFA-AG-09-002的回复。该提案的主要目标是：（1）确定与从正常认知状态进展为轻度认知障碍（MCI）或痴呆相关的生物标志物，特别关注阿尔茨海默病（AD）的痴呆-这些生物标志物可能包括基于认知测试，磁共振成像（MRI），血液或脑脊液（CSF）的测量;（2）确定哪些横截面或纵向生物标志物测量（单独或组合进行）是从正常认知进展到不同水平的认知功能障碍（即，MCI或AD）;（3）建立一个可公开访问的数据库，其中包含临床、认知、成像、血液和CSF数据-原始成像数据以及血液和CSF样本也将酌情提供给实地研究人员。在研究中心已经组建了一个研究人员团队，他们在老年人的临床评价方面具有丰富的经验，并且在分析相关生物标志物方面具有专业知识。将组建几个外部咨询小组，以便就数据分析（特别是脑脊液和血液样本，这是不可再生资源）提供指导。为了实现这些目标，我们将：（1）对尽可能多的BIOCARD先前参与者进行全面的临床评价，以确定他们目前的临床和认知状态-这将代表该队列的约10年随访;（2）启动年度、纵向、对尽可能多的这些人进行临床和认知评估，以便在资助期结束时完成对队列的15年随访;（3）使用最新技术对先前收集的MRI扫描、CSF样本和血液进行完整分析;（4）对先前收集的数据与受试者当前状态的关系进行完整分析;以及（5）通过可公开访问的数据库向科学界提供这些数据。

This is a response to RFA # RFA-AG-09-002. The major goals of the proposal are to: (1) Identify biomarkers that are associated with progression from normal cognitive status to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia, with a particular focus on the dementia of Alzheimer's disease (AD) - these biomarkers may potentially include measures based on cognitive testing, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), blood, or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); (2) Determine which cross-sectional or longitudinal biomarker measures (taken alone or in combination) are the best predictors of progression from normal cognition to varying levels of cognitive dysfunction (i.e., MCI or AD); (3) Create a publicly accessible data base containing the clinical, cognitive, imaging, blood and CSF data - raw imaging data and samples of blood and CSF will also be available to investigators in the field, as appropriate. A team of investigators has been assembled at the study site with substantial experience in the clinical evaluation of older individuals, as well as expertise in the analysis of the biomarkers in question. Several external advisory groups will be assembled in order to provide guidance concerning the analysis of the data (particularly the CSF and blood samples, which are a non-renewable resource). In order to accomplish these goals we will: (1) complete a comprehensive clinical evaluation on as many prior participants in BIOCARD as possible in order to determine their current clinical and cognitive status - this will represent an approximate 10 year follow-up of the cohort; (2) initiate annual, longitudinal, clinical and cognitive evaluations on as many of these individuals as possible in order to complete a 15 year follow-up of the cohort by the end of the funding period; (3) complete analyses of the previously collected MRI scans, CSF samples and blood, using state-of-art techniques; (4) complete analyses of the relationship of the previously collected data to the current status of the subjects; and (5) provide these data to the scientific community through a publicly accessible database.