Aging and Dementia Research Center (ADRC)
Executive Director: Steven H. Ferris, Ph.D.
Clinical Director: Barry Reisberg, M.D.

The Aging and Dementia Research Center (ADRC) of the Silberstein Institute for Aging and Dementia is one of the oldest and most comprehensive clinical research centers in the world focusing on age-associated cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. The Center began its pioneering research in 1973 by conducting some of the earliest clinical trials of treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Over the next 30 years, more than 50 treatment trials have been conducted, including studies of several new drugs that are now approved for the treatment of AD.

The Center's early treatment research soon expanded into a broad, comprehensive program, in part because limited knowledge at the time made it necessary to better understand the clinical presentation and course of cognitive decline, to develop improved methods for obtaining more accurate and earlier diagnosis, and to develop novel strategies to manage patient symptoms and to reduce the psychosocial impact of Alzheimer's disease on family caregivers.

Thus, the ADRC has pioneered in the development of improved diagnostic and outcome measures, particularly clinical, neuropsychological and neuroimaging techniques for early diagnosis. It has also developed a groundbreaking caregiver research program that has developed and tested psychosocial methods for improving the well being of Alzheimer caregivers. The ADRC has also contributed to the recognition of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as a very early stage of AD and as an important target for early treatment. The Center is currently is spearheading a new focus on developing treatments that may prevent AD. Related work is focusing on the recognition and treatment of age-related cognitive decline.

The current research of the ADRC is organized within three main clinical programs, the Clinical Treatment and Longitudinal Assessment Research Program, headed by Barry Reisberg, MD, the Cognitive Assessment and Clinical Trials Program, directed by Steven Ferris, PhD and the Psychosocial Research and Support Program headed by Mary Mittelman, DrPH.