Participants: BLSA
The BLSA is a prospective cohort study that began at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in 195859,60.
Evaluations are scheduled every two years. As of 2003 participants over the age of 80 are scheduled for evaluations every year.
Autopsy sample characteristics have been described in detail previously61, including differences compared to the overall BLSA cohort62, neuropathologic assessment of AD pathology63, and clinical diagnoses at consensus case conferences64.
BLSA autopsy participants were classified into three groups based on the below criteria:
1) AD participants (n = 15) had a clinical diagnosis of either AD or MCI due to AD within 1 year of death and a CERAD pathology score of >1 (i.e., CERAD B or C).
2) Cognitively normal (CN) participants (n = 8) had normal cognition within 1 year of death and a CERAD pathology score < =1 (i.e., CERAD 0 or A). CN…
