The European Prevention of Alzheimer’s dementia (EPAD) is an interdisciplinary research initiative that aims to improve the understanding of the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and deliver new preventative treatments.
The largest ever public-private partnership in Alzheimer’s disease research, EPAD combines knowledge and expertise from 39 European organisations across multiple sectors, bringing a wealth of experience to our activities.
EPAD has developed a proof-of-concept platform which efficiently enables the undertaking of adaptive, multi-arm proof of concept studies for early and accurate decisions on the ongoing development of effective, targeted interventions that can slow or stop dementia.
Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a set of symptoms that can include memory loss, confusion, and difficulties with language. There are many different types of dementia. These occur when the brain is affected by certain diseases or conditions.
Alzheimer’s disease can cause a specific type of dementia that usually develops slowly and gets worse over time. During the disease, proteins build up in the brain to form structures called ‘plaques’ and ‘tangles’. This can lead to the loss of connections between nerve cells, and eventually to the loss of brain tissue. There are currently no treatments or cures for Alzheimer’s dementia.
There are an estimated 46.8 million people worldwide living with dementia in 2015 and this figure is set to rise to 131.5 million by 2050. (World Alzheimer Report 2016). Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia globally. It affects around seven million people in Europe.
Attempts to develop new therapies for treating Alzheimer’s disease have so-far been unsuccessful. It is a progressive disorder and it is well known that the signs of the disease – plaques and tangles – can be found in the brain decades before the first symptoms appear. Researchers believe that early intervention may be a more effective way to tackle the condition.
We have designed the EPAD PoC (proof of concept) platform to accommodate pharmacological, biological or nutraceutical interventions that are Phase II ready. It offers pharmaceutical and biotechnology organisations, academic researchers, and funders an efficient, adaptive PoC trial designed to deliver early, accurate results, in the most efficient way.
At the moment, it is not possible to register on an individual basis for inclusion on the EPAD Register. Potential research participants were selected from ongoing cohort studies in Europe (also known as parent cohorts) and from referral clinics. However, in the UK, you can also sign up to national registers:
All parent cohorts that join EPAD are listed on a ‘virtual’ EPAD Register. This register is the first single, pan-European register of people across the risk spectrum for dementia. Selected research participants moved from their parent cohort on the EPAD Register to the EPAD cohort. Eventually, some of these selected participants from this cohort will take part in an EPAD trial.
