Biological samples, including DNA, cerebrospinal fluid, brain tissue and other biospecimens are the tools of laboratory research in Alzheimer’s disease. The National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (NCRAD) at Indiana University School of Medicine is the national resource where these biological materials are stored and made available for new and ongoing research around the world.
Since its creation in the early 1990s, the repository has collected more than 500,000 samples from individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and/or related dementias as well as healthy controls. With a significant national increase in Alzheimer’s disease research funding, the biobank expects to receive 300,000 additional specimens by 2022.