Recruitment and Assessment Core Patient Recruitment

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The objective of this Recruitment and Assessment (R&A) Core for the CCNMD is to support all of the[unreadable] Center's projects. There are seven main aims of R&A: 1) To implement a well functioning screening,[unreadable] recruitment and assessment process for CCNMD projects; 2) To recruit elderly and young (> 60 yrs)[unreadable] patients meeting entry criteria per year for CCNMD projects; 3) To recruit and screen the normal,[unreadable] age-matched and young volunteers required for CCNMD projects; 4) To maintain a quality control[unreadable] system to monitor the work of the assessment core staff for reliability; 5) To conduct standardized MRI[unreadable] studies for patient assessment and to collect blood for genetic analyses; 6) Allocation of patients to[unreadable] different projects and ensuring that there is no undue burden on subjects; and 7) To develop and[unreadable] maintain an autopsy resource.[unreadable] The R&A Core will meet these goals chiefly through highly trained key personnel and research staff,[unreadable] including research psychiatrists, neuropsychologist, research assistants, a neuropsychological[unreadable] technician, a neuropathologist, and an Autopsy Coordinator. Subjects will receive a thorough[unreadable] psychiatric assessment, medical assessment, a detailed review of cardiovascular and[unreadable] cerebrovascular risk factors, standardized neurological examination, and a standardized cognitive[unreadable] assessment including a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery.[unreadable] Patients will be recruited through a variety of sources, including the impatient service at Duke and a[unreadable] state hospital, Duke affiliated clinics, the Duke ECT services, clinical trials, and an NIMH-sponsored[unreadable] naturalistic longitudinal study of depression. Elderly controls will be obtained through an Aging[unreadable] Center Registry of elderly volunteers. Young controls will be recruited through a similar data base.[unreadable] The R&A staff will work to ensure that all subjects have completed CCNMD protocols. R&A staff will[unreadable] find appropriate follow-up for depressed subjects, either through referral or enrollment in other[unreadable] research studies.