Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association
Volume 4, Issue 2 , Pages 96-109, March 2008

Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease (CERAD): The first twenty years

  • Gerda G. Fillenbaum

      Affiliations

    • Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
    • Geriatrics Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Fulton Street, Durham, NC, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: 919-660-7530; fax: 919-668-0453.
    • ,
  • Gerald van Belle

      Affiliations

    • Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
    • ,
  • John C. Morris

      Affiliations

    • Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Departments of Neurology, Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
    • ,
  • Richard C. Mohs

      Affiliations

    • Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA
    • ,
  • Suzanne S. Mirra

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pathology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA
    • ,
  • Patricia C. Davis

      Affiliations

    • Northwest Radiology Consultants, Atlanta, GA, USA
    • ,
  • Pierre N. Tariot

      Affiliations

    • University of Arizona College of Medicine, Memory Disorders Center Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA
    • ,
  • Jeremy M. Silverman

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
    • ,
  • Christopher M. Clark

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
    • ,
  • Kathleen A. Welsh-Bohmer

      Affiliations

    • Bryan Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
    • ,
  • Albert Heyman

      Affiliations

    • Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

Abstract 

The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease (CERAD) was funded by the National Institute on Aging in 1986 to develop standardized, validated measures for the assessment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The present report describes the measures that CERAD developed during its first decade and their continued use in their original and translated forms. These measures include clinical, neuropsychological, neuropathologic, and behavioral assessments of AD and also assessment of family history and parkinsonism in AD. An approach to evaluating neuroimages did not meet the standards desired. Further evaluations that could not be completed because of lack of funding (but where some materials are available) include evaluation of very severe AD and of service use and need by patient and caregiver. The information that was developed in the U.S. and abroad permits standardized assessment of AD in clinical practice, facilitates epidemiologic studies, and provides information valuable for individual and public health planning. CERAD materials and data remain available for those wishing to use them.

Keywords: Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease, CERAD, Alzheimer’s disease, Clinical assessment, Neuropsychological assessment, Neuropathological assessment, Norms, Prevalence, Incidence

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 With the exception of the senior author (Dr Heyman), who was the Principal Investigator of CERAD, and the first author, who was the Project Director, the order of authorship reflects the order of development of CERAD’s primary assessments. The Methodology and Data Management Center (Dr van Belle) and the Clinical (Dr Morris) and Neuropsychology (Dr Mohs) batteries were developed simultaneously. These were followed by the Neuropathology protocol (Dr Mirra), the Neuroimaging protocol (Dr Davis), the Behavior Rating Scale for Dementia (Dr Tariot), evaluation of family history (Dr Silverman), and structured assessment of extrapyramidal dysfunction in AD (Dr Clark).

PII: S1552-5260(07)00616-4

doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2007.08.005

Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association
Volume 4, Issue 2 , Pages 96-109, March 2008

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