Pathology, Alzheimer's and Related Diseases Study (PARDoS)
PARDoS, funded by the National Institute of Aging, is led by investigators at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center (RADC) at Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) in Chicago, IL., USA. The overall goals of PARDoS are to discover the molecular genomic mechanisms responsible for the development of Alzheimer's disease and related diseases (ADRD) pathologic and clinical traits, with a focus on African ancestry. PARDoS collects brains from persons ages 18 and up from the Santo Andre Autopsy Service southeast of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Guarulhos Autopsy Service northeast of Sao Paulo, and the Hospital do Servidor Público Estadual (HSPE) at the Instituto de Assistencia Medica ao Servidor Publico Estadual (IAMSPE) in Sao Paulo. We collect about 7 brains per day. Their average age is 76 with a third ages 18-64, about half are men, and half are Black/Mixed and they have an average education of about 6 years. PARDoS addresses several major gaps in the panoply of clinical-pathologic studies in the USA and elsewhere.
PARDoS is a platform for investigators interested in using the data and brain biospecimens in support of a wide range of studies of aging and neurodegenerative diseases that incorporate African ancestry. PARDoS is also a platform to support collection of other organs. There are currently ongoing studies of bone and teeth, lung and bronchus, and abdominal and pericardial fat and liver. From these tissues we can quantify the lifelong exposure to the major air, water, and food chain pollutants at a person-specific level, including metals, airborne particulates, and persistent organic pollutants.
Requests for PARDoS resources are made at the RADC Research Resource Sharing Hub at www.radc.rush.edu. Data requests require a data use agreement with RUMC, and materials require a material transfer agreement with IAMSPE. These agreements must comply with Brazilian laws and regulations which have important differences from the USA and thus are not negotiable.