The 27th Alzheimer Europe Conference will take place on 2-4 October 2017 in Berlin, Germany.

This year’s conference will be held under the motto “Care today, cure tomorrow”– focusing on the exciting research aiming at finding better treatments and interventions to prevent or delay the onset of dementia, whilst at the same time providing concrete solutions to improve the quality of life, support and care of people currently living with the condition.

#27AEC

Make sure to visit the EBC booth at the Exhibition.

View full conference programme here

On 4 October, EBC will hold a Special Symposium (SS4) in partnership with MSD on Early intervention in Alzheimer’s disease: For a new understanding of AD across its spectrum. Further details follow:

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive disorder that spans over many years, in other words: the brain starts deteriorating years before symptoms emerge. When are affected people becoming “patients” across the spectrum of AD and what can we do about it? Between the early signs of being affected by AD and the ability to provide treatment, many years will pass and many things could have been done. Amidst the call for early intervention and putting knowledge and resources in the hands of patients and care givers, we are still faced with a number of societal, ethical, technical and medical challenges. These are the premises of our lunch session, where we would like to discuss the concept of “early intervention” across its many facets and develop a new understanding of AD.

If “knowledge is power”, the first step is to ask whether we are collectively ready to receive such knowledge. Simply put, if we would able to know, would we want to know that we live with AD? The second step is acting on this level of awareness: What are the tools and interventions that are already available and that could guide a proper route of action to support both patients and care givers? Finally, as new treatments addressing the biological origins of AD, i.e. disease-modifying therapies, are being developed and will eventually become available, how can we assess the societal and medical value of such treatments?

In this short session, experts and stakeholders will present the scientific rationale for this new understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and the ethical challenges it holds; explore the opportunities to monitor and control the risk factors through eHealth interventions; and to assess the potential socio-economic impact of treating AD before the onset of dementia.

The symposium will be moderated by EFNA Executive Director Donna Walsh, and include the following presentations:

Nilsy Desant (MSD) – Would You Want to Know If You’ll Get Alzheimer’s?

Dr. Alex Milton, PhD (University of Southampton) – eHealth interventions to prevent dementia

Dr. Ron Handels, PhD (Alzheimer Centrum Limburg at Maastricht University) – The value of treating Alzheimer’s disease before the onset of dementia