CORE--CLINICAL

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The Clinical Core is vital to the plans and success of the ADRC. It provides the primary interface between persons with dementia and the investigative community. The Core recruits and evaluates subjects with Alzheimer's Disease and related dementia (ADRD) syndromes, along with carefully matched healthy adults. The recruitment activities of the Clinical Core are closely coordinated with the efforts of the Minority Recruitment Satellite, the are giving Core, and the Education Core to enhance community awareness and enroll a demographically representative pool of volunteers. Core participants with dementia are evaluated annually to obtain standardized information on health history, functional status, and physical, cognitive and general neurologic examination findings, with the intent of fulfilling diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's Disease or other recognized dementia syndromes. Participants also receive standardized evaluations of neuropsychological function, activities of daily living, behavioral symptoms, affect, and motivational statues to develop a longitudinal database on the clinical expression of ADRD. Blood samples are collected to allow current and future studies of the biology of ADRD in well-characterized subjects. When participants are no longer able to attend in person, and families are encouraged to continue longitudinal assessment of functional and behavior by telephone. The results of clinical evaluation are reviewed at a weekly Diagnostic Consensus Conference for research diagnosis and dementia severity assignments. Following Consensus diagnosis, the clinical data are released to the Data Management and Analysis Core for computerization and provision to investigators. A primary mission of the clinical Core is refer well-characterized clinical and control volunteers to investigators studying ADRD in greater Cleveland and collaborate in nationwide efforts to understand these devastating diseases. The Core carefully tracks subject participation in these studies in order to minimize attrition from undue burden. The Core maximizes subject retention by maintaining regular contact with registered volunteer families and providing services intended to maintain close, supportive, and long term working relationships with volunteer families. Finally, the Core facilitates brain donation by coordinating the autopsies performed by the Neuropathology Core.