The Gwangju Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias (GARD) Cohort is a prospectively followed sample of persons in a senior citizen’s community located in the South Korean southwestern city of Gwangju. A large portion of the cohort has been evaluated with the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery (SNSB) and had a brain MRI scan, and some participants have had PET-amyloid imaging. Previous studies of this cohort include GWAS for AD (Kang et al. J Alzheimers Dis. 2021; 82(4):1451-1460) and brain MRI traits (Park et al. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:590). Another study identified a SNP in the APOE promoter that modifies the effect of the ε4 allele and may explain differences in the AD/ε4 across East Asians, Caucasians and African Americans (Choi et al. J Clin Med 2019; 8:1236).

The GARD cohort is the largest Asian cohort comprising 19,004 older adults recruited from both community and hospitals. The cohort collected neuropsychological information, biospecimens (blood, CSF, and buccal and brain tissues), multi-omics data (genomics and transcriptomics), brain imaging data and derived deep AD-related phenotypes to enable a comprehensive investigation of AD.

Starting in 2010, AD cases were recruited primarily from Chosun University Hospital (located on the same campus as the GARD) and also from several university-affiliated hospitals elsewhere in Korea. Cognitively normal subjects were ascertained from a local community survey administered by the Gwangju Dementia Prevention Center located near Chosun University. MCI subjects were enrolled from both hospital and community settings. Because early detection of AD is a primary research goal at GARD, most dementia-related studies conducted at GARD have a longitudinal design. Consequently, enrollment to date has been focused on cognitively normal elders and subjects with MCI.

Study Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria:

Inclusion criteria:

  • Aged between 55 and 90
  • Participants with adequate hearing and vision for neuropsychological examinations
  • Participants with no potential ailments that could hinder the research
  • Participants who are not pregnant or breastfeeding and has no possibility of future pregnancy
  • Participants who are willing to take full part in the examinations during the trial period
  • Participants with a Hachinski score below 4
  • Participants who are not prohibited from undergoing an MRI scan
  • Participants who have agreed to the collection of blood samples for the examination of APOE, DNA, RNA and biomarkers

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Suffers from spasmic disorders
  • Suffers from psychological disorders such as depression and alcohol addiction
  • Suffered from depression/bipolar disorders categorized as DSM-IV in the last 12 months
  • The use of substances categorized under DSM-IV in the last 2 years
  • Participants who are under medication to treat ailments such as stroke and psychological disorders, as well as sleeping pills and oriential medicine
  • Participants who have a one-time average alcohol intake of more than 5SU and drinks more than 4 times a week
  • Participants who have metallic implants and prosthetics such as pacemakers, artery clips, artificial valves and hearing aids.
  • Participants who have suffered from a serious psychological, behavioral or anxiety disorder in the last 3 months that makes research participation difficult