NCRAD: Advancing Alzheimer's research through high-quality biospecimens and data

IF 11.1 1区医学 Q1 CLINICAL NEUROLOGY

Alzheimer's & Dementia Pub Date : 2025-09-16 DOI:10.1002/alz.70682

Michael C. Edler, Kelley Faber, Kaci Lacy, Jacqueline Jackson, Tatiana Foroud

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (NCRAD) was established in 2002 to support research on the genetics of Alzheimer's disease. NCRAD quickly became a central resource, banking samples from numerous studies and distributing them to researchers worldwide. As genetic risk variants were identified, NCRAD prepared for functional studies by expanding its collections to include peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), RNA, and biofluids. Over the past decade, NCRAD's extensive repository of plasma, serum, and cerebrospinal fluid was essential to the development of fluid biomarkers. NCRAD's rigorous best practices for sample collection, processing, and distribution ensure biospecimens are of the highest quality for a broad range of experimental approaches. Currently, NCRAD banks samples from 91 studies representing over 135,000 unique, well-characterized participants, and has distributed over 440,000 aliquots to more than 300 researchers. Data from NCRAD-supported studies have contributed to over 1100 publications and numerous key discoveries in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) genetics and biomarkers.

Highlights

Centralized Biobanking for ADRD Research: National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (NCRAD) supports over 90 National Institute on Aging (NIA) -funded studies by providing standardized, high-quality biospecimens and longitudinal sample collections, enabling reproducible and scalable research into Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD).
Enabling Genetic Discovery and Functional Genomics: NCRAD partnerships with numerous research initiatives has facilitated major advances in gene discovery, while also supporting downstream functional studies using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), transcriptomics, and post mortem brain tissue.
Rigorous QA/QC and Automation Infrastructure: NCRAD employs comprehensive quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) systems and cutting-edge automation—including robotic liquid handling, automated nucleic acid extraction, and ultra-low temperature storage—to ensure biospecimen integrity and reduce preanalytical variability.
Unique Sample Distribution and Data Sharing Model: NCRAD's blinded sample distribution system and emphasis on returning data to public repositories ensure broad research access, maximize scientific output, and promote transparency and reproducibility.
Collaborative, Scalable Repository Ecosystem: As part of Indiana University's integrated biobanking infrastructure, NCRAD supports efficient cross-study and cross-repository research, enabling large-scale multi-omic and biomarker analyses across diverse neurodegenerative diseases.

Abstract Image

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NCRAD：通过高质量的生物标本和数据推进阿尔茨海默病的研究。

国家阿尔茨海默病和相关痴呆集中知识库（NCRAD）成立于2002年，旨在支持阿尔茨海默病的遗传学研究。NCRAD迅速成为一个中心资源，从众多研究中收集样本，并将它们分发给世界各地的研究人员。随着遗传风险变异的确定，NCRAD通过扩大其收集范围，包括外周血单个核细胞（PBMCs）、RNA和生物体液，为功能研究做准备。在过去的十年中，NCRAD广泛的血浆、血清和脑脊液储存库对液体生物标志物的开发至关重要。NCRAD严格的样品收集、处理和分发最佳实践确保生物标本具有最高质量，适用于广泛的实验方法。目前，NCRAD的样本库来自91项研究，代表了超过13.5万名独特的、特征明确的参与者，并向300多名研究人员分发了超过44万份相同的样本。ncrad支持的研究数据已经发表了1100多篇论文，并在阿尔茨海默病和相关痴呆（ADRD）遗传学和生物标志物方面取得了许多重大发现。重点：ADRD研究的集中生物库：国家阿尔茨海默病和相关痴呆中央储存库（NCRAD）通过提供标准化、高质量的生物标本和纵向样本收集，支持90多个国家老龄化研究所（NIA）资助的研究，使阿尔茨海默病和相关痴呆（ADRD）的研究具有可重复性和可扩展性。促进基因发现和功能基因组学：NCRAD与众多研究计划的合作促进了基因发现的重大进展，同时也支持下游功能研究，使用诱导多能干细胞（iPSCs）、转录组学和死后脑组织。严格的QA/QC和自动化基础设施：NCRAD采用全面的质量保证/质量控制（QA/QC）系统和尖端的自动化，包括机器人液体处理，自动核酸提取和超低温储存，以确保生物标本的完整性并减少分析前的可变性。独特的样本分布和数据共享模型：NCRAD的盲法样本分布系统和强调将数据返回到公共存储库，确保广泛的研究访问，最大限度地提高科学产出，并促进透明度和可重复性。协作，可扩展的存储库生态系统：作为印第安纳大学集成生物银行基础设施的一部分，NCRAD支持高效的交叉研究和跨存储库研究，实现跨多种神经退行性疾病的大规模多组学和生物标志物分析。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Alzheimer's & Dementia 医学-临床神经学

CiteScore

14.50

自引率

5.00%

发文量

299

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Alzheimer's & Dementia is a peer-reviewed journal that aims to bridge knowledge gaps in dementia research by covering the entire spectrum, from basic science to clinical trials to social and behavioral investigations. It provides a platform for rapid communication of new findings and ideas, optimal translation of research into practical applications, increasing knowledge across diverse disciplines for early detection, diagnosis, and intervention, and identifying promising new research directions. In July 2008, Alzheimer's & Dementia was accepted for indexing by MEDLINE, recognizing its scientific merit and contribution to Alzheimer's research.