The Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) Autopsy Cohort was an Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) clinic-based sample. Subjects included in the Case Western Reserve Autopsy cohort include individuals who were participants in the Brain Health and Memory Center Research Brain Donation Protocol at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center in Cleveland, OH. The target population is patients who have degenerative disorders of the central nervous system. Recruitment of potential subjects is primarily based on referrals from health care providers. In addition, individuals who learn of the program through other means may participate. This is an autopsy-based study designed to analyze post-mortem brain tissue. Medical records are also obtained as available to help correlate brain behavior relationships.

Participants were classified into clinical categories (Alzheimer’s disease, Controls, and other dementia (ADRD) based on description of the brain gross examination and neuropath microscopic description. Cases consisted of individuals who were diagnosed as AD. Controls consisted of individuals who had insufficient findings of neurofibrillary tangles or BRAAK stage I/II or essentially normal brain for age. Other (ADRD) consisted of individuals with diagnosis not being AD or Control.