This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in 1986 to develop a battery of standardized instruments for the evaluation of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) enrolled in ongoing Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers and other major dementia research programs in the US. At that time, clinical investigation of AD was hampered by the absence of uniform diagnostic criteria and standardized measures for the severity of impairment. Comparison of research findings from individual research centers was not possible because of the variety of approaches to testing. The purpose of CERAD was to create uniformity in enrollment criteria and methods of assessment in clinical and neuropsychological studies of AD, permitting the pooling of information across sites.
Study onset. At the onset of the study, a battery of relatively brief but reliable instruments was selected to evaluate patients who had mild or moderate AD. These tests included the overall clinical assessment of the patient1 and neuropsychological assessment of cognitive impairment or dementia.2 These tests were selected for their value in assessment of the progression of the illness at annual intervals over the course of the disease. Once these primary assessments were applied and shown to be reliable, attention was given to standardization of neuropathologic measures of AD.3 The need for this assessment was particularly great because clinical diagnosis could be confirmed only through autopsy examination. The neuropathologic assessment instrument not only provided criteria for the neuropathologic spectrum of AD but also established the types and frequency of coexisting disorders (e.g., vascular disease, Parkinson's disease, diffuse Lewy body disease) at autopsy.
After the development of these three major components of the CERAD battery, several other assessments were developed: neuroimaging, frequency rating of behavioral abnormalities associated with AD, characterization of extrapyramidal …
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
You May Also be Interested in
Alert Me
Recommended articles
CERAD publications 1988-1997
The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD). Part X. Neuropathology Confirmation of the Clinical Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease
The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD). Part XIII.
Progression of Alzheimer's disease in black and white patients