I came back recently from attending the 4th Singapore Neurocognitive Symposium. The focus on the symposium was Dementia the prevalence of which is most often seen in Alziehmer’s disease (AD).
The speakers came from various countries in Asia such as Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong and the Philippines. There were 2 speakers from the US, one from the Netherlands, one from the UK and one from Spain. It was most informative and what follows is a summary of the main points taken up by the various speakers:
-Dementia is the final stage of a long pre-clinical or asymptomatic period Alziehmer’s Disease (AD);
-AD actually starts 15-20 years before symptoms appear;
-Certain tests can indicate if a person is “at risk” for getting AD;
-The presence of Amyloid B and Tau pathologies in the brain indicate a high probability of getting the condition;
– These substances can be seen via PET scan and by extraction of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF);
-AD is an age related disease, the older a person is, the greater the risk of getting this disorder;
-The incidence of AD is increasing as the population ages, all over the world;
-Dementia is reportedly now a global health priority of the World Health Organization (WHO);
-We cannot stop dementia, the aim of current research is to find pharmacological and non-pharmacological ways to delay, as well as minimize, its effect and improve the quality of life;
-Research is now underway to improve as well as to formulate new medicines to treat AD. Studies are also underway to find non-pharmacological intervention for the condition.
Source: taken from information given by the various speakers of the symposium. The speakers were Adeline Ng, Alvin Cenina, Kinjal Doshi, Wiesje M. Van der Flier, Jose Luis Molinuevo, Oscar Lopez, Koji Abe, Christopher Chen, Claude Wischik
