Background and purpose of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease

Through the Health Research Extension Act of 1985, the US Congress authorized the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to award one or more grants to develop a registry for the collection of epidemiologic data concerning the incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to train personnel for the collection of such data. In response to a Request for Applications, the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) was funded in 1986. Of the seven programs to receive awards under this congressional mandate, CERAD was the only program with a specific focus on …