International Conference on Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
The Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) kicks off this week in Netherlands. More than 10,000 of the brightest minds in dementia science will convene in Amsterdam and online to share their latest research.
Several researchers working with the Australian Alzheimer’s Research Foundation are attending the conference, in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The AAIC is the world’s largest gathering of researchers from around the world focused on Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
One of the highlights of the conference so far is the release of a draft proposal for new Alzheimer’s disease diagnostic criteria, which has been presented to attendees and is open for their comments.
The new proposal is a revision of the 2018 National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association (NIA-AA) Alzheimer’s research framework and will be available for public comment for 30 days on the Alzheimer’s Association AAIC website.
“Care has to evolve with the science,” said Maria C. Carrillo, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer. “Our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease has advanced, in particular our understanding of biomarkers, and this needs to be reflected in how we describe and diagnose the disease.”
“We look forward to input from the scientific and clinical community on these proposed revisions. The Alzheimer’s Association is proud to lead this important effort, which will ultimately enable people to get a more accurate diagnosis earlier, as well as help those diagnosed enrol in research trials and, if appropriate, get access to approved treatments.”
Dr Maria C. Carrillo, Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer
Early diagnosis helps people understand the cause of their cognitive challenges so they can make informed decisions about how they want to manage their lives. Evidence-based diagnostic criteria also help doctors better determine if their patients do or do not have Alzheimer’s, so they can be diagnosed and treated appropriately.
New to the draft revision is the incorporation of blood-based biomarkers, which are showing tremendous promise and performance in the ability to detect Alzheimer’s disease.
