Utility of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) Neuropsychological Battery Total Score in the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease

The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) created a neuropsychological battery that is both brief and sensitive to dementia (Morris et al., 1989). Chandler et al. (2005) put forth a method of calculating a Total Score for the CERAD along with normative data. The objective of this study was to determine the utility of the Total Score as a measure of progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Subjects included CERAD registry normal controls (NC; N = 383) and AD subjects (N = 655) with a baseline assessment and at least one follow-up assessment. Change Scores were calculated along with Reliable Change Indexes (RCI). The AD sample declined an average of -7.2 points per year, compared to a 1.0 point annual increase obtained by the NC sample. By the third annual assessment, the majority of AD subjects (65.2%) exceeded the confidence interval established by the RCI. Annualized CERAD Change Scores significantly correlated with change scores on the MMSE (r = .66), CDR Sum of Boxes (r = -.42), and BDRS (r = -.38). The impact of race, gender, education, and age-at-baseline on AD progression was examined with analysis of covariance and multiple regression. Demographic variables accounted for only 4% of the variance in annualized change in CERAD performance, with greater annualized decline in Total Score observed in Caucasians (M = -7.64, SD = 6.82) versus African- Americans (M = -4.60, SD = 7.03); males (M = -8.22, SD = 6.70) versus females (M = 6-.44, SD = 7.04); and younger age-at-baseline (M = -8.72, SD = 6.44) versus older age-at-baseline (M = -6.85, SD = 7.01). Neither education nor dementia severity significantly impacted annualized Change Scores. The current study provides support for the validity of the CERAD Total Score as a measure of progression in AD.