CERAD
Also written as: CERAD — Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease
Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease scoring system for neuritic plaques in dementia diagnosis.
Full Definition
The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) provides a standardized scoring system for assessing neuritic plaque density in post-mortem brain tissue. This semi-quantitative assessment uses categories of none, sparse, moderate, or frequent plaques and is essential for neuropathological diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. CERAD scoring is often combined with Braak staging and other criteria to establish definitive dementia diagnoses in research and clinical contexts.
Usage
Usage note: Always capitalize as acronym; spell out on first use in formal documents.
In Context
- "The CERAD score was moderate, indicating significant neuritic plaque burden in the temporal cortex." — Autopsy report
- "CERAD criteria should be applied consistently across all cases in the dementia research cohort." — Research protocol