NAB 2022 Virtual Symposium Event Recording
Resources provided by our panelists from the live event:
WHO Toolkit for Dementia-Friendly Initiatives : https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240031531
Recent review from Dr. Babulal about this topic: https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/alz.12433
Dementia risk factors analysis Dr. Castilhos and team performed in Brazil: https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lanam/PIIS2667-193X(22)00073-4.pdf
Global perspectives on sex and gender for AD: https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/alz.12662
Info about the prevention trial Dr. Ayton is a part of: https://www.betterbrains.org.au/
A little info on our (Dr. Ayton) volunteer program: https://monashpartners.org.au/2020/09/03/mycare-ageing-providing-companionship-to-patients-with-dementia/
And the paper describing the co-design approach to design our program: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e036449
Alzheimer’s Association article about caregiver stress with stress management tips: https://www.alz.org/help-support/caregiving/caregiver-health/caregiver-stress
Are you curious about Alzheimer’s Disease Across Cultures?
If so, join us for a discussion with some of the world’s leading researchers where we will discuss research, care, treatment, and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia internationally across continents. Our panel will discuss their research and/or personal experiences centered in their country of expertise. Our hope is that we can highlight similarities and differences between the experiences of individuals facing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia across the globe.
Event Details
Date: Saturday, November 5th, 2022
Time:
Pacific Standard Time: 10AM - 12PM
Mountain Standard Time: 11AM - 1PM
Central Standard Time: 12PM - 2PM
Eastern Standard Time: 1PM - 3PM
Schedule
Speakers
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Maria Teresa Ferreti
Dr. Maria Teresa Ferretti is a neuroscientist and neuroimmunologist, expert in Alzheimer’s disease and gender medicine. In 2016, together with Dr Schumacher-Dimech, Dr Santuccione Chadha and Gautam Maitra, she co-founded the non-profit organization “Women ‘s Brain Project” (where she currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer), a world leader in the study of sex and gender characteristics in brain and mental health as the gateway to precision medicine.
After graduating in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Technologies at University of Cagliari (Italy), she studied and worked in England, Canada (where she earned a PhD in Pharmacology and Pharmacological Therapy at McGill University in Montreal), Switzerland and Austria. Her studies have been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, and she is regularly invited by leading scientific conferences to lecture on Alzheimer’s disease, precision medicine and the differences between men and women in neurology and psychiatry. She has taught in numerous university courses and is currently ‘External Teacher’ at the Medical University of Vienna; in addition, Dr Ferretti is responsible for continuous medical education courses in the field of gender and precision medicine.
Passionate about scientific communication and motivated by the desire to break the stigma on mental and brain diseases, she was a TED-x speaker in 2019 and in 2021; in 2021, together with Antonella Santuccione Chadha, she wrote the book for the general public ‘Una bambina senza testa’ (Edizioni Mondo Nuovo). Her latest book, ‘Alzheimer Revolution’ has been published beginning of 2022 (Edizioni Mondo Nuovo).
KEYNOTE SPEAKER Q & A
Dr. Maria Teresa Ferretti European Perspective:
How is an Alzheimer’s diagnosis viewed from an individual, cultural, and societal perspective?
I can speak for Italy, which is the European country I know best, but in my experience the issues are similar everywhere, even in highly educated Sweden. There is still a huge stigma. Alzheimer, dementia and aging are confused, mixed up and generally feared with little understanding of the exact processes. In Sweden, Sofia told me that people even think dementia is contagious and avoid visiting families living with it. A diagnosis is often hidden and there is very little public conversation about this disease. I think, at least in Italy, this is a general issue with brain and mental disorders, which are tabu. The public needs to be educated that the brain is an organ like any other and can break down. In order to explain this, I wrote together with Antonella Santuccione Chadha (CEO probono of WBP and cofounder) the book 'Una bambina senza testa'. (https://www.amazon.it/bambina-senza-Antonella-Santuccione-Chadha/dp/8832115549)
How do the universal healthcare systems prevalent in many European countries affect Alzheimer’s care?
In Italy AD treatments and support are of course covered by public healthcare. However, the system is far from perfect, and many families complain that they completely lack support. A late diagnosis, lack of screening programs, and limited access to new drugs and clinical trials outside of big excellence centers delays proper treatment of the disease on a large scale. This however will require additional investments as it cannot be afforded with the current measures.
What kind of hardships do people diagnosed with dementia in Europe/Switzerland face?
In Italy, Switzerland and many other countries, the issues families complain of are similar: late diagnosis (very complicated patient pathway), no support post diagnosis, little controls, no information on clinical trials/new treatments, no support to caregivers. I have met people in Italy who had to sell their houses to afford caregiving.
In what ways do you think Europe/Switzerland can improve care and accessibility for those with Alzheimer’s/dementia?
I think we need screening programs for early diagnosis, post diagnostic support, access to clinical trials and new treatments, and better support to caregivers.
International Panelists
Dr. Raphael Castilhos, PhD
South American Perspective
Dr. Raphael Castilhos, PhD, is a neurologist at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil, and Graduate Professor of Medicine at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. His main area of research is dementia, especially early stages of Alzheimer 's disease.
Dr. Celestino Obua, MD, MSc, PhD
African Perspective
Dr Celestino Obua is a Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Fellow of the Uganda Academy of Sciences (FUNAS) and currently the Vice Chancellor, Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST). He previously served as the Deputy Principal, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University before his appointment as the Vice Chancellor of MUST. He is the Principal Investigator/Program Director on several NIH/FIC funded research and capacity building grants at Mbarara University of Science and Technology. His passion for research and capacity building at the individual as well as institutional levels has contributed to mentoring several graduate students and junior faculty to be the next generation of researchers. His scientific work is currently focused on building capacity for research in Non-Communicable Diseases especially neurological disorders (Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and epilepsy), alcohol use disorders and mental health disorders, conditions that are poorly understood with minimal primary care interventions in the context of rural Uganda.
Dr. Manjari Tripathi, MD
Asian Perspective
Manjari Tripathi completed her training in Neurology at NIMHANS, Bangalore in 1996. She worked as Faculty in the Department of Neurology at St John's Medical College Bangalore 1997-1998. She joined AIIMS as Assistant Professor Neurology in 1998. She observed the functioning of the Dementia clinic with Prof M Mesulam Northwestern University, Chicago, USA in 2002. She is a member of Professional societies like American Academy of Neurology, Indian Epilepsy Society and Association, 10/66 Dementia research group, National Epilepsy and disability workgroup. She is a faculty of 1000 with the International league against. She is a task force person for Chronic disease biology and stem cell research in the (Department of Biotechnology (DBT ). Her other areas of interest are Cognitive disorders specially Dementias; Childhood acquired aphasias, Sleep medicine and tropical neurology.
Dr. Darshini Ayton, PhD, MPH
Australian Perspective
Dr Darshini Ayton is the Deputy Head of the Health and Social Care Unit at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) emerging leader fellow (2021-2025). Darsh is leading the Health and Social Care Unit aging and health services research work and is a chief investigator on an NHMRC Center of Research Excellence and primary investigator on Medical Research Future Fund and National Center for Healthy Aging funding and multiple industry, health service and aged care provider funding.
Her program of research links acute care to the community and residential aged care and encompasses dementia prevention, innovative diagnostics for dementia and sector-spanning models of care to improve quality of care and quality of life.
Darsh has a strong track record in health and social care research and methodological approaches including qualitative research, consumer and community involvement, clinical registries, randomized controlled trials and implementation science.
US-BASED Panelists
Dr. Diana Kerwin, MD, CPI
Dr. Kerwin is Founder and President of Kerwin Medical Center, a practice that focuses on the development of therapeutics and cures for neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Kerwin has almost twenty (20) years’ experience in clinical trial research for neurologic diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, frontotemporal dementia and other atypical dementias. Dr. Kerwin is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics in Texas, Illinois, California and Wisconsin. Prior to forming her memory care practice in Dallas, she was Assistant Professor of Medicine-Geriatrics at Northwestern University in Chicago and a faculty member of the world recognized Northwestern University Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center (CNADC).
Her award-winning research on the relationship of obesity and memory function in women has been featured in TIME Magazine, the BBC, The Boston Globe, and on local and national news programs. Dr. Kerwin was the co-chair of the Tau2020 Conference, the first collaborative conference of the Tau Consortium, Alzheimer’s Association and CurePSP. Dr. Kerwin served as a member of the National Board of Directors for the Alzheimer’s Association for seven years and completed her last 2 years as Chair of the Mission Outcomes Committee. Dr. Kerwin is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neuro-Therapeutics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and has been the academic partner on several community initiatives to improve the care of senior adults with dementia in underserved areas and continues to focus on this aspect of improving access to care.
She has served as principal investigator on phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials for the development of therapeutics in Alzheimer’s and other dementias such as progressive supranuclear palsy and multiple system atrophy. Kerwin Medical Center is a part of the GAP Network of clinical trial sites and recognized as a Center of Care for CurePSP since 2019.
Dr. Pei Jung Lin, PhD
Pei-Jung Lin, PhD, is a Project Director at the Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health (CEVR) in the Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies (ICRHPS) at Tufts Medical Center, and Associate Professor of Medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Lin’s research interests center on health care policy, health economics and outcomes research, and cost-effectiveness analysis. The core of her work involves analyzing the value of health care and assessing quality of care, patient outcomes, and health care costs among vulnerable populations with chronic conditions. Her current NIH-funded R01 grant investigates racial and ethnic disparities in dementia care. She was awarded the Alzheimer's Association New Investigator Research Grant to examine hospital outcomes among patients with dementia. Dr. Lin is an Associate Editor for Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of The Alzheimer’s Association, and Programs Chair of the Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART) Health Policy Personal Interest Area.
Dr. Ganesh Babulal, PhD, OTD
Dr. Ganesh Babulal, Ph.D., OTD, is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine, an Adjunct Associate Professor at the George Washington University, and a Research Associate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Additionally, he is a faculty scholar in the Institute of Public Health and immediate past-Chair of the Diversity and Disparities Professional Interest Area within the Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment.
Dr. Babulal's research program assesses human and environmental factors and how their interaction impacts performance and quality of life in healthy and clinical populations like stroke and dementia. Specifically, this research characterizes functional changes using biomarkers and identifies noncognitive behavioral markers that predict preclinical disease states. Additionally, this work assesses how social determinants of health, including poverty, racism, and chronic stress, impact health and well-being in underrepresented, minoritized groups in the United States and Low and Middle-Income Countries.
Dr. Darshini Ayton Australian Perspective
Recorded videos coming soon!