Once you have learnt of the scale of dementia – the prevalence and impact of the condition that are going to have increasingly profound effects globally – you understand why it needs to be at the forefront of global health and governmental agendas.
Global impact of dementia
Currently, 50 million people are living with dementia – a collection of progressive and ultimately terminal brain syndromes which affect memory, coordination, perception, and emotion regulation among other symptoms. By 2050, this number will have risen to a staggering 152 million. Every three seconds someone develops dementia, and it is the 7th leading cause of death worldwide. This year, it will become a disease that costs the world economy over US$ one trillion.
However, thanks to the work of organizations such as Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) and the 90 dementia associations it supports, people affected by, and people who are living with the condition, are beginning to get their voices heard on a global platform.
Alzheimer’s Disease International
ADI is the international federation of Alzheimer associations around the world, in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) and in consultative status with the United Nations (UN). ADI currently has 90 members, each member being the Alzheimer association in their country who support people living with dementia and their families. ADI believes that the key to winning the fight against dementia lies in a unique combination of global solutions and local knowledge. As such, it works locally, by empowering Alzheimer associations to promote and offer care and support for people living with dementia and their carers, whilst working globally to focus attention on dementia. There are over 46 million people estimated to be living with dementia around the world and this number is set to reach 131.5 million in 2050. ADI’s vision is prevention, care and inclusion today, and cure tomorrow.
33rd International Conference in Chicago
This year, ADI will host its 33rd International Conference in Chicago, IL. It will be a fantastic 
opportunity to bring together a global community of people who are passionate about the issue to further conversation, motivation, and mobilization for change.
At the conference, a number of eminent and esteemed speakers will deliver a high standard of scientific and non-scientific content. The extensive and multi-disciplinary programe enables participants to learn about the latest advances in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care and management of dementia.
The main plenary sessions at the conference will be:
- Scientific Progress
- National and International Policy
- Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Care
- Psychosocial Interventions
The Scientific Progress plenary looks at current and future moves in the scientific treatments for dementias. It will be chaired by Dr Serge Gauthier, Professor at McGill University, and Director of the Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders Research Unit of the McGill Center for Studies in Aging.
Speakers in this plenary will include:
- Jeffrey L. Cummings, Director of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Cleveland, Ohio and Professor of Neurotherapeutics and Drug Development in the Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic.
- Alireza Atri, Instructor in Neurology at Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Director of the Outpatient
Memory Disorders and Dementia Units. - Alina Solomon, Associate Professor at the Department of Neurology in the University of Kuopio, Finland and the Aging Research Centre at Karolinska Institutet
World Alzheimer Report 2018
ADI will also be giving a preview of the new World Alzheimer Report 2018. This year, the focus will be the state of the art of dementia research and looking at new frontiers.
The report will give a call to action for engagement within the research community, participation in clinical trials, engagement of people with dementia and a call for sustained and increased funding for research.
The readers of BMC blogs and their extended networks are warmly invited to attend the conference.
More details of the conference and registration can be found here: https://www.adi2018.org/registration/
Read ADI’s latest report: From plan to impact: Progress towards the targets of the Global action plan on dementia here: https://www.alz.co.uk/adi/pdf/from-plan-to-impact-2018.pdf
For the latest research in Alzheimer’s and potential therapies visit Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy
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