Category: News

Development of interventions for the secondary prevention of Alzheimer’s dementia: the European Prevention of Alzheimer’s Dementia (EPAD) project

Summary

Alzheimer’s dementia affects more than 40 million people worldwide with substantial increases in prevalence anticipated. Interventions that either modify risk or reduce the development of early disease could delay the onset of dementia or reduce the rate of cognitive and functional decline. The European Prevention of Alzheimer’s Dementia (EPAD) is a public–private consortium, funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative, designed to increase the likelihood of successful development of new treatments for the secondary prevention of Alzheimer’s dementia. EPAD will help with testing of different agents in this pre-dementia population through four components: improvement of access to existing cohorts and registries, development of the EPAD Registry of approximately 24 000 people who might be at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia, establishment of the EPAD Longitudinal Cohort Study of 6000 people at any one time, and establishment of an adaptive, proof-of-concept trial including 1500 participants at any given time. The need for EPAD and its key design elements are described, and we discuss EPAD in relation to similar projects in progress. These parallel efforts reflect the need for a coordinated, worldwide battle against dementia, in which EPAD will play a crucial role.

Read more on http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(15)00454-X/abstract

On 3, 5 and 6 November 2015, four EPAD focus groups were conducted in Barcelona. These groups are part of a larger research project led by the University of Cambridge.

The focus groups’ research aims at providing insights into how understandings of Alzheimer’s disease risk and its implications are shaped by cultural, social and economic conditions, including health and social care systems, attitudes to dementia and dementia care, and understandings of the role and responsibilities of researchers and research participants.

The groups in Barcelona were organised by Fundacion Pasqual Maragall and facilitated by Alzheimer Europe Project Officer, Ana Diaz.

Participants in three of the groups were drawn from the ALFA cohort study (Fundacion Pasqual Maragall). The other group consisted of people who had expressed their interest in collaborating with the Foundation. The groups included people who do and do not have a family history of Alzheimer’s disease. Similar groups will be conducted in the UK and Sweden, and with Alzheimer Europe’s European Working Group of People with Dementia (EWGPWD) in December 2015 in Brussels.

On October 14^th 2015, Craig Ritchie gave the Wicking Trust Public Lecture in Melbourne which is attended by various representatives of leading research bodies, policy think tanks, care providers, consumers and carers. One of his primary goals while there is to share information about EPAD and hopefully enlist support and involvement in the EPAD project from local scientists.

“Dementia is a global disease that deserves a global approach. Japan and America are looking to run similar programs to EPAD and I’d welcome involvement from Australia too,” he said.

The goal of EPAD is to prevent dementia in people with evidence of the disease but who still may have little or no complaints or clinical symptoms. The focus on these early stages in the disease trajectory sprouts out of the current thinking in the Alzheimer’s disease area that pathological process leading to the disease start years, even decades before clinical onset.

During the morning of October 15^th, Professor Craig Ritchie continued his campaign and joined Fran Kelly on Radio National Breakfast to talk about EPAD and its ambitious objectives. Make sure to check out what Craig said: HERE

Source

On 13 August 2015, EPAD’s ethics working group held an internal workshop in Amsterdam.

Most of the meeting was taken up with discussions about issues to be covered in the EPAD ethical guidance document for clinicians and researchers involved in the project (in particular informed consent, disclosure of possible risk status and dealing with incidental findings).

The group also briefly discussed progress with the subject panel focus group discussions which will be carried out in the UK, Spain and Sweden, and with Alzheimer Europe’s European Working Group of People with Dementia later this year.

Alzheimer Portugal’s project, Memo e Kelembra nas Escolas (Memo and Kelembra in schools) arose from a need to sensitise and raise awareness among the population – particularly children, teachers and assistants – about Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementias, as well as their implications for our society, in particular families.

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