10^th World Congress on Alzheimers Disease & Dementia May 30-31, 2018 Osaka, Japan

Biography:

Dong-woo Lee has completed his MD from Seoul National University, South Korea. He is presently working as a Professor in Department of Psychiatry, Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, Seoul, South Korea. He is also the Director of Nowon Dementia Support Center.

Abstract:

Dementia is a chronic, disabling illness which is most feared by elderly people. Dementia causes heavy caregiver burden on the family. Dementia also imposes much burden on the society, making it as one of the major public health problem in many countries. Actually, OECD recommended posing a priority to dementia management as a public health task. As the Korean population is rapidly aging, there is a rapid increase of people with dementia in Korea. In Korea, the people with dementia double every 15 years and the economic burden of care for dementia doubles every 10 years. To cope with this rapidly increasing burden of dementia, Korean government has launched “Plan for National Responsibility for Dementia”. The plan is composed of distributing dementia reassuring center nationwide, setting up dementia reassuring hospital and decreasing the burden of paid money for medical treatment and long-term care for dementia. The major hurdles in implementing the plan and the strategies to overcome such hurdles are suggested.

Biography:

Philip Choo has been Group Chief Executive Officer at National Healthcare Group Pte Ltd. since 2015. He has served as the Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer of Care Integration and Population Health and Chief Executive Officer of Tan Tock Seng Hospital at National Healthcare Group Pte Ltd. He has served as the Chairman and Director of Medical Board of Tan Tock Seng Hospital at National Healthcare Group Pte Ltd. He serves as the Director of Integrated Health Information Systems Pte Ltd.

Abstract:

The current system of using hospitals is not sustainable. The shift upstream to prevention and slowing the progression of illness as well as downstream shift to better maintain the growing frail elderly will be important. Developing services for the elderly in the community will require seamless coordination at ground levels. Together with this will be the enablers to aid in the healthcare transformation. Our goal is good and affordable care at a level that is sustainable for the long term.

Biography:

Reshma A Merchant has graduated from University of Edinburgh and currently a Fellow of Royal College of Physician, Edinburg. She is currently the Head of Division of Geriatric Medicine at the National University Hospital, Singapore. Her primary interest is in cognitive frailty.

Abstract:

Population, health and prevention of frailty and dementia have become a public health priority to reduce healthcare cost and institutionalization. The primary aim of Healthy Ageing Promotion Program for You (HAPPY) was to improve cognition and function. Participants were older adults aged above 60 years recruited from senior activity centres and community. In addition to demographics data, information on frailty, quality of life, cognition and function was collected. Physical measurements including Short Performance Battery test (SPPB) was also carried out. Those screened to be pre-frail or frail and ambulant or have underlying cognitive impairment were invited to participate in HAPPY. Exclusion criteria included diagnosis of dementia and wheelchair bound. 40 participants were followed up for 3 months. Baseline characteristics of participants include mean age of 75.5 years. 25 (62.5%) of participants complained of subjective memory problems and 8 (20%) of participants had Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores below 24. About 29 (72.5%) had hypertension, 17 (42.5%) had hyperlipidemia and 11 (27.5%) had diabetes. 8 (20%) of participants had 3 or more chronic diseases. 34 (85%) were prefrail and 5 (12.5%) were classified as frail. After 3 months, MMSE mean scores improved from 25.9 to 26.8 and Montreal cognitive assessment mean scores improved from 23.0 to 24.9. In addition to cognitive scores, there was small but significant improvement in gait speed and total SPPB scores without any change in self-rated quality of life. Community based engagement and intervention programs are useful in delaying the onset of dementia and frailty.

Biography:

Nela Pivac is Senior Scientist, re-elected, at the RuÄ‘er Bošković Institute (RBI) in Zagreb, Croatia and Associate Professor at the Interdisciplinary PhD study in Osijek University. She is Associated Editor of Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, Head of the Laboratory for Molecular Neuropsychiatry, main Editor of the RBI Annual report, and leader of numerous national and international projects. She has won 4 state awards for scientific achievements and published 139 scientific papers and 38 chapters in the books, cited 2948 times, H-index=32 and serves as a Reviewer for domestic and international projects and numerous reputed journals.

Abstract:

Alzheimer’s disease is irreversible neurodegenerative progressive disorder, with complex and multifactorial etiology and the most frequent cause of dementia worldwide. The more frequent form is a sporadic or Late-Onset AD (LOAD). Besides older age, other numerous risk factors for LOAD are various risk genotypes, and among them are genes for Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and its receptor Tropomyosin-Related Kinase B (TrkB), that code proteins involved in modulation of brain plasticity, neuronal growth, survival, function, regeneration but also apoptosis. Reduced levels of the central and peripheral BDNF have been found in various neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, including LOAD. Risk factors for LOAD might provoke earlier onset, duration, severity and progress of AD. At present there is no cure for AD. Therefore a quest for validated, specific and sensitive biomarkers is an unmet need of the AD research. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association of BDNF (rs6265, rs11030104, rs7934165, rs1519480, C270T) and TrkB (NTRK2) gene polymorphisms with the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) biomarkers (Aβ1-42, total tau, p-tau181, p-tau199, p-tau231 and the visinin-like protein VILIP-1 (VILIP-1) of LOAD. The diagnosis of probable LOAD (N=114) was made according to the DSM-IV and the NINDS-ADRDA criteria. Our results revealed significant differences in total tau, p-tau181 and VILIP-1 concentrations in patients subdivided according to the BDNF rs6265, rs11030104, rs11030104, rs7934165 and C270T genotypes and different p-tau181, p-tau199 and VILIP-1 concentration in carriers of the NTRK2 genotypes. These results reveal a significant association between BDNF and CSF biomarkers in LOAD. 

Biography:

Bruno Vincent has completed his PhD from the University of Nice, France in 1996. He has then joined the Rockefeller University in New York as a Postdoctoral Fellow. He returned back to France in 1999 at the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology in Sophia-Antipolis and took the position of permanent Researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in 2001 and was promoted to Research Director. In 2010, he moved to Mahidol University in Bangkok where his research team is working on the identification of new AD-regulating factors. He has published 60 articles in reputed international journals.

Abstract:

Sox2 is a transcription factor that controls the balance between stem cells self-renewal and differentiation, thereby contributing to the control of neurogenesis. Importantly, Sox2 deficiency triggers neurodegeneration in the adult brain. Moreover, Sox2 co localizes with the Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) in stem cells and Sox2 levels are decreased in the brain of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) patients. We have recently reported the existence of functional network engaging Sox2, the APP Intracellular Domain AICD and the secretase ADAM10 in vitro in human cells. Indeed, Sox2 is a potent activator of the non-amyloidogenic processing of APP by increasing the expression of ADAM10. Secondly, transient overexpression of the pro-apoptotic C-terminal APP-derived AICD50 metabolite reduces Sox2 transcription whereas inhibiting AICD production with a -secretase inhibitor augments Sox2 expression, and consequently ADAM10 protein levels, in HEK293 and SH-SY5Y cell lines. Experiments carried out in vivo indicate that Sox2 levels are diminished in the hippocampus of mouse models of AD when compared to control animals. Whether ADAM10 and Sox2 co-localize in neurogenic areas of the adult mouse brain and determining if this co-localization is impaired in transgenic AD models is currently under investigation. Finally, the impact of the pharmacological or the genetic modulation of this network on the reprogramming of human induced pluripotent stem cells into neurons is currently monitored in an in vitro model of neurogenesis. Altogether, our data suggest that enhancing the Sox2/ADAM10 axis may favor neuroprotection and neurogenesis during the development of AD.

Biography:

Claude M Wischik has completed his Medical degree at Flinders University in South Australia and PhD at the University of Cambridge, UK. He is the Professor of Psychiatric Geratology at the University of Aberdeen and Chairman of TauRx Therapeutics. He has published extensively on the τ-pathology of AD.

Abstract:

Following our discovery of a fragment from the repeat domain of τ-protein as a structural constituent of the PHF-core in Alzheimer’s disease, we developed an assay that captured several key features of the aggregation process. τ-τ u binding through the core τ fragment can be blocked by variants of the methylthioninium (MT) moiety found to dissolve proteolytically stable PHFs isolated from AD brain. The PHF-core tau fragment induces templated proteolytic processing of normal τ, is inherently capable of auto-catalytic self-propagation, can be assembled into characteristic PHFs in vitro and assembly can be blocked by MT-like compounds. The potential utility of these compounds for reduction of pathology and reversal of behavioural deficits was confirmed in tau transgenic mouse models using a stable reduced form of the molecule (hydromethylthionine) which is better absorbed and tolerated. Similar benefits have been shown in a synucein aggregation assay in vitro and in a transgenic synuclein mouse model. These findings led to the first clinical trials to test hydromethylthionine therapy in Alzheimer’s disease as a way to block this cascade. Although hydromethylthionine appears to be beneficial as monotherapy, there is a negative interaction with standard symptomatic treatments for AD which was has now been confirmed in a τ transgenic mouse model. In clinical practice, hydromethylthionine therapy will be optimally useful as first-line monotherapy. The efficacy of hydromethylthionine as a synuclein aggregation inhibitor suggests that it may also be useful in Parkinson’s disease and dementia of the Lewy body type.

Biography:

Yuqiu Zheng has got her bachelor’s degree in clinical medicine from Sun Yat-sen University and now is pursuing her master’s degree in neurology in Sun-Yat Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University. She has been investigating the pathologies and therapeutics of Alzheimer’s disease, especially novel drug delivery system, and has published more than 10 papers.   

Abstract:

Neuroinflammtion plays an important role in several neurological diseases, especially in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Neurotropin (NTP) is a widely used drug in China and Japan mainly for the treatment of chronic pain and peripheral inflammation and previous studies have indicated that NTP could improve cognitive impairment in APP/PS1 mice by stimulating the production of BDNF and suppressing the oxidative stress. Nevertheless, the effects of NTP on neuroinflammation have not been explored. In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of NTP in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV-2 microglial cells and its underlying mechanisms. BV-2 cells were pretreated with NTP for 12 h before exposure to LPS. The expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6) were detected by RT-PCR and EILSA at mRNA and protein levels, respectively. Western blotting was conducted to measure the protein levels of major genes in MAPKs and NF-κB signaling pathways. Results demonstrated that NTP could attenuate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, NTP inhibited the activation of NF-κB signaling by decreasing the translocation of NF-κB p65 to the nucleus and suppressed the MAPKs signaling pathway via inhibition of the phosphorylation of p38, ERK and JNK. Taken together, these findings suggest that neurotropin exerts anti-inflammatory effects by suppressing the production of pro-inflammatory mediators via inhibition of NF-κB and MAPKs signaling pathways in LPS-stimulated BV-2 cells, indicating that NTP might be a potential choice for the treatment of neuroinflammation.

Biography:

Kouichi Miyakawa has completed his Undergraduate degree of political science at the age of 24 years from Keio university.  He has a certified care worker in Japan and is working for Care Company as senior manager.  He is an one of directors at Japan Dementia Group Home association, Public Interest Incoprorated Assocition

Abstract:

Research of efficency and evaluation of Group Home Care at Dimentia Group Home is an interesting research to figure out how Group home care can provide improvement of  QOL and BPSD for residents with dementia disease.  There are 13,000 group homes for residents with dementia disease in Japan.   Each group home tries to offer them accomodation and special care for dementia old folks.  The concept of group home is livging together with care staffs and dementia residents..  Through this daily life, residents get personal care and  rhythm of life.    Residents with dementia disease also support each other.

Biography:

Jun Liu has completed his phD from Sun Yat-sen University and postdoctoral studies from University of Kansas Medical School. He is now the vice director of neurology department of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hosptial, Sun Yat-sen University. He has been investigating the pathologies and therapeutics of Alzheimer’s disease and  published more than 22 SCI papers as the corresponding author.

Abstract:

Alzheimer’s disease(AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder mainly characterized by β-amyloid deposit, tau hyperphosphorylation and neuron loss with no curative treatments. In recent years, the main efforts of multinational pharmaceutical companies have been focused on reducing the aggregation of Aβ and tau proteins but with repeated defeats. According to statistics of Adis R&D, between 1998 and 2014, major pharmaceutical companies launched a total of 123 drugs for AD but only three drugs and one combination therapy program have been approved by the FDA. However, without exception, none of these 123 drugs can cure AD and even delay the progression of the disease. So we should shift our focus from alleviating the AD-like pathologies to neuroprotection, which means the preservation of neuronal structure and/or function. As far as we know, there are some therapeutic strategies of neuroprotection for AD, such as the application of NMDA receptor antagonists, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors(ACEIs), anti-inflammatory agents, antioxidants, neurotrophins and Chinese medicine and so on. Our research group has found that neurotropin (a non-protein bioactive agent extracted from rabbit inflamed skins inoculated with Vaccinia virus vaccine), GQDG (graphene quantum dot conjugated with neuroprotective peptide —glycine-proline-glutamate), edaravone, EGb761(Ginkgo Biloba Extract) and β-sitosterol exerted potent neuroprotective effects in AD. In conclusion, a single cure for AD is unlikely to be found and multi-target therapies should be addressed.

Biography:

Department of Nuclear Medicine, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center, Daegu, Republic of Korea

Abstract:

 White matter lesions (WML), detected as hyperintensities on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, represent chronic microvascular ischemia in the brain and are considered potential risk factors for memory and cognitive impairment in the elderly. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between WML and the cerebral β-amyloid (Aβ) burden in patients with cognitive impairment.

Methods: Nineteen, 30, and 34 patients with subjective cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease, respectively, who underwent brain MRI and F-18 florbetaben PET, were included. The Fazekas scale was used to quantify WML on brain T2-weighted images. The cerebral Aβ burden was quantitatively estimated using volume-of-interest analysis. The difference in Fazekas scale was evaluated between the Aβ positive and negative groups. The relationship between the Fazekas scale and the cerebral Aβ burden was evaluated using linear regression analysis after adjustment for age and sex.

Results: There were no differences in age and sex among the patients with subjective cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease. In the overall cohort and mild cognitive impairment group, Aβ positive patients exhibited significantly higher Fazekas scale compared with Aβ negative patients (0.8 vs. 1.3, P = .024 and 0.5 vs. 1.4, P = .022); in addition, the cerebral Aβ burden was positively correlated with the Fazekas scale (β = .299, P = .006 and β = .517, P = .003).

Conclusions: WML are associated with the cerebral Aβ burden in patients with cognitive impairment. This suggests that chronic microvascular ischemia contributes to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. 

Biography:

Ge Meiling is a PhD student studying at Sichuan University, whose major is geriatrics,espectrially the stem cells therapy on dementia and other neurodegenerative dieases. She has published more than 10 papers in reputed journals.

Abstract:

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a globally prevalent neurodegenerative disease, clinically characterized by progressive memory loss and gradual impairment of cognitive functions. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation has been considered a possible therapeutic method for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, no quantitative data synthesis of MSCs therapy for AD exists. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the effects of MSCs on cognitive deficits in animal models of AD.

Methods: We identified eligible studies published from January 1980 to January 2017 by searching four electronic databases (PubMed, Medline, Embase, CNKI). The endpoint was the effects of MSCs on cognitive performance evaluated by the Morris Water Maze (MWM) test including escape latency, and/or number of platform crossing, and/or time in the target quadrant.

Results: Nine preclinical studies incorporating 225 animals with AD were included for the meta-analysis. The studies indicated that MSCs based treatment significantly improved the learning function through measurements of the escape latency (SMD =−0.99, 95% CI= −1.33 to –0.64, P < 0.00001). Additionally, we observed that transplantation of MSCs significantly increased the number of platform crossing in six experiments (SMD=0.78, 95% CI =0.43 to 1.13, P<0.0001). What’s more, the times in the target quadrant were increased in five studies indicated that transplantation of MSCs could ameliorate the cognitive impairments (SMD=1.06, 95% CI= 0.46 to 1.67, P=0.0005).

Discussions: The current study showed that MSCs transplantation could reduce cognitive deficits in AD models. These findings support the further studies to translate MSCs in the treatment of AD in humans

Biography:

Nela Pivac is senior scientist,  re-elected, at the RuÄ‘er Bošković Institute (RBI) in Zagreb, Croatia, and Associate Professor at the Interdisciplinary PhD study in Osijek University. She is Associated Editor of Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, head of the Laboratory for Molecular Neuropsychiatry, main editor of the RBI Annual report, and leader of numerous national and inernational projects. She has won 4 State Awards for scientific achievements and published 139 scientific papers and 38 chapters in the books, cited 2948 times, H-index=32; and serves as reviewer for domestic and international projects and numerous reputed journals.
 

Abstract:

Alzheimer’s disease is irreversible neurodegenerative progressive disorder, with complex and multifactorial etiology, and the most frequent cause of dementia worldwide. The more frequent form is a sporadic or late-onset AD (LOAD). Besides older age, other numerous risk factors for LOAD are various risk genotypes, and among them are genes for brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptor tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB), that code proteins involved in modulation of brain plasticity, neuronal growth, survival, function, regeneration but also apoptosis. Reduced levels of the central and peripheral BDNF have been found in various neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, including LOAD. Risk factors for LOAD might provoke earlier onset, duration, severity and progress of AD. At present there is no cure for AD. Therefore a quest for validated, specific and sensitive biomarkers is an unmet need of the AD research. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association of BDNF (rs6265, rs11030104, rs7934165, rs1519480, C270T) and TrkB (NTRK2) gene polymorphisms with the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers (Aβ_1-42, total tau_, p-tau₁₈₁, p-tau₁₉₉, p-tau₂₃₁  and the visinin-like protein VILIP-1 (VILIP-1) of LOAD. The diagnosis of probable LOAD (N=114) was made according to the DSM-IV and the NINDS–ADRDA criteria. Our results revealed significant differences in total tau,  p-tau₁₈₁  and VILIP-1 concentrations in patients subdivided according to the BDNF rs6265, rs11030104, rs11030104, rs7934165 and C270T genotypes, and different p-tau_181,  p-tau₁₉₉ and VILIP-1 concentration in carriers of the NTRK2 genotypes. These results reveal a significant association between BDNF and CSF biomarkers in LOAD.

Biography:

He holds a degree in Medicine from the State University of Montes Claros (2007). Specialization in Neurosurgery at the Biocor Institute. (2008-2012). He works as a neurosurgeon and surgeon of peripheral nerves at in Montes Claros-MG and Vila da Serra Hospital-Belo Horizonte-MG. Professor of the Medical School of Faculties FUNORTE, FipMoc. He helds his masters degree in Promove university (2013-2015), member of the Brazilian Society of Anatomy, member of the Brazilian Society of Epilepsy, member of the Brazilian Society of Neurosurgery, and member of the Brazilian Society of Cerebrovascular Diseases. He has articles published in national and international congresses and several articles in the area of neurology and neurosurgery published in national and international medical journals. He wrote the book "NEUROANATOMY APPLIED TO MEDICAL CLINIC" that will be released by MEDBOOK publisher in 2018. In 2017 he became associate editor of the international journal "Techniques in Neurosurgery and Neurology.

Abstract:

Alzheimer's disease is a most common dementia in the world. Approximately 30% of the population over the age of 80’s will present it. Although it is a disease with the well-defined diagnostic criteria, the exclusion of other diseases is very important. The physician should present in his mind the arsenal of differential diagnoses of main clinical features of each disease that potentially mimics an Alzheimer's disease, thus facilitating the identification of them. In this heterogeneous group of dementias, curiously found some of them that are potentially reversible. In the group of dementias, we found primary and secondary diseases as cause of dementia process: deficiency of vitamin B₁₂, B₁, tertiary syphilis, normal pressure hydrocephalus, brain tumors, vascular dementia, delirium, depression, Lewy body disease, central nervous system (CNS) vasculitis, fronto-temporal dementia, drug intoxication and Parkinson's disease. Although the technology evolution, many of the aforementioned diagnosis may be performed based on the patient's medical history and physical examination. Patients with reports of sadness and loss of energy may suggest the diagnosis of depression in an elderly patient with cognitive impairment. Cognitive changes initiated abruptly suggest more the diagnosis of delirium than dementia. In these cases, a secondary etiology needs more investigation. The history of daily alcohol consumption may suggest deficiency of vitamin B₁ (Korsakoff syndrome). Young patients with arthralgia, weight loss and rash are associated with CNS vasculitis. Changes in gait, urinary incontinence are common findings in normal pressure hydrocephalus. Patients with reports of recurrent strokes may have vascular dementia. Motor changes such as spasticity is associated to dementia by Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease in a late stage. It is concluded that anamnesis and physical examination is considered the initial step in the investigation of a patient who comes at the office with a complaint of memory problems.

Biography:

Ann Van der Jeugd trained neuroscientist with 10 years of experience designing and performing behavioral and electrophysiology experiments in rodents. The main goal of my doctoral and postdoctoral studies is to find novel therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias by targeting hippocampal dysfunction.

Abstract:

Some risk factors that can be detected early in adulthood might render a person more susceptible to cognitive decline. It is becoming increasingly clear that social isolation could be such a risk factor for age-related cognitive decline and dementia. Social isolation has been linked to a higher risk in developing dementia in elderly persons. But in our modern society, loneliness is also highly prevalent among adults. Numbers in the US range from 25 to 60%, which could possibly result in social isolation and thus an increased risk of developing, accelerating or exacerbating dementia pathology and symptoms. Moreover, changes in social interaction and electronic communication are placing an increasing proportion of the adult demographic at risk for loneliness. Given the high prevalence of social isolation, studying the effects of this on mental health is more timely than ever. We found that rodents that were isolated for 4 weeks during adolescence developed a specific dementia-like phenotype compromising both cognitive and non-cognitive domains, compared to socially housed animals. This behavioural phenotype was expressed as reduced investigation of social stimuli and intense aversive responses toward them, such as freezing. Animals also displayed a long-lasting impairment in a memory task. This phenomenon was found to be dependent on proper ventral and dorsal hippocampal synaptic plasticity. Implications for the clinic and therapeutic strategies and interventions are discussed.

Biography:

Rita Anand is a women with clear and intrinsic desire to help seniors and those caring for them navigate that maze—particularly if they find themselves struggling with issues relating to dementia, Alzheimer’s ,health ,caregiving, advance planning or hospice. A passionate advocate with incredible respect of elderly. Rita is on a personal mission to use her vast professional education, skills and connections to provide a comprehensive buffet of services that helps seniors enjoy and find peace in “golden years”. She feels she has a calling to help and assist our seniors with utmost care . She has created a program to educate and train is now in on pilot trail in few health care settings .Rita is a recipient of  2016 Outstanding Leadership Award at ‘The Global Women’s Summits”.

Abstract:

  Aging with grace….. Since research study says that we don’t have a cure for our dementia patients… till then ,as an advocate would like to navigate the process of this disease in a therapeutic and natural loving way .Dementia, our loved ones are going through a very unique process of living which we should understand and respect . Enabling them to achieve the highest quality of life and highest level of functioning, while maintaining dignity. I have worked with several unique individuals in every single health care settings and noticed that dementia patients are very unique individuals, We(caregivers) must try to “know “them(individual) first before taking care of them-“Personal Individualized care”. There are few factors that need to be evaluated and planned for, our loved one (dementia patient) and the family can  also better cope .

Biography:

Rosanne Burke is a Certified Positive Approach™ to Care Trainer and the owner of Keji Consulting, a dementia education and training business.  She teaches health care professionals and families specific skills and knowledge that transform how they care for a person who has dementia. She has written numerous articles on dementia that have been published in newsletters throughout North America. She has been a dementia care partner to her father for four years and is a volunteer with the local Alzheimer Society. 

Abstract:

The number of individuals around the world affected by dementia is growing. To address the looming crisis of dementia, there is a tremendous need to increase knowledge of dementia and awareness of early warning signs, and help people learn skills to communicate and interact effectively with a person who has dementia.

This workshop will increase awareness of dementia and its symptoms, and will teach basic communication techniques to people who care for individuals living with dementia. Participants will have the opportunity to practice specific techniques on how to connect and approach a person with dementia using both verbal and non-verbal cues.

Increasing basic knowledge and communication skills of care partners will lead to interactions with better outcomes, will improve quality of life for everyone involved, and will allow people living with dementia to continue to live full lives for as long as possible.

Biography:

Dr. Shyu's research has focused on family caregiving for persons with dementia and care models for older persons recovering after hip-fracture surgery. More than 20 of her 3- to 5-year research projects have been funded by Taiwan’s National Health Research Institute (NHRI) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Taiwan. She has 170 peer-reviewed publications. Her research accomplishments have been recognized by Taiwan’s NHRI and MOST and were inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame 2017 of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Abstract:

Quality of life has become an important health outcome for the elderly, particularly in terms of chronic illness. However, few studies have examined the associations of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) with comorbid diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN) and/or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the elderly. Our study explored associations of comorbid DM, HTN and/or MCI with HRQoL in older persons (≥65 years old) in Taiwan. Methods. Participants (N=5,174) were categorized into eight chronic-illness groups: DM only (n=237); HTN only (n=1,284); MCI only (n=497); DM and HTN (n=392); HTN and MCI (n=303); DM and MCI (n=58); DM, HTN and MCI (n=101); and none (healthy; n=1,915). Odds ratios for HRQoL (measured by EQ-5D scores) of these eight groups were assessed by multinomial logistic regression. Index scores were calculated from EQ-5D scores using Japan’s general population preference weights. Results. For the five EQ-5D dimensions, each chronic-illness group reported the highest percentage of problems in pain/discomfort and the lowest in self-care. Compared to the healthy group, MCI alone or with other comorbidities was significantly, negatively associated with HRQoL, particularly for EQ-5D dimensions of self-care, usual activities and mobility. Participants with comorbid DM, HTN and MCI exhibited the lowest HRQoL, suggesting that the negative association of these chronic illnesses with overall HRQoL was additive. Similar trends were observed for index scores. Conclusions. Having MCI was negatively associated with older Taiwanese adults’ HRQoL. Thus, when managing older persons with chronic illnesses, assessing cognitive function is important to identify high-risk groups needing assistance in HRQoL.

Biography:

Hong Qing engaged in neurodegenerative disease research and studied the molecular mechanism of its key proteins. He clarified the BACE protein transcription mechanism, and has been found the impaction of its interaction protein on Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis. He interested to explore the neuro circuits of learning and memory by optogenetics. The quantitative study method that based on plasma protein to identify neurodegenerative diseases were established. Otherwise, His work also related on nerve regeneration and drugs to explain the therapeutic effect on AD.

Abstract:

γ-Secretase has been a therapeutical target for its key role in cleaving APP to generate β-amyloid (Aβ), the primary constituents of senile plaques and a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology. Recently, γ-secretase associating proteins showed promising role in specifically modulating APP processing while sparing Notch signaling; however, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. A co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) coupled with mass spectrometry proteomic assay for Presenilin1 (PS1, the catalytic subunit of γ-secretase) was firstly conducted to find more γ-secretase associating proteins. Gene ontology analysis of these results identified Rab21 as a potential PS1 interacting protein, and the interaction between them was validated by reciprocal Co-IP and immunofluorescence assay. Then, molecular and biochemical methods were used to investigate the effect of Rab21 on APP processing. Results showed that overexpression of Rab21 enhanced Aβ generation, while silencing of Rab21 reduced the accumulation of Aβ, which resulted due to change in γ- secretase activity rather than α- or β-secretase. Finally, we demonstrated that Rab21 had no effect on γ-secretase complex synthesis or metabolism but enhanced PS1 endocytosis and translocation to late endosome/lysosome. In conclusion, we identified a novel γ-secretase-associating protein Rab21 and illustrate that Rab21 promotes γ-secretase internalization and translocation to late endosome/lysosome. Moreover, silencing of Rab21 decreases the γ-secretase activity in APP processing thus production of Aβ. All these results open new gateways towards the understanding of γ-secretase-associating proteins in APP processing and make inhibition of Rab21 a promising strategy for AD therapy.

Biography:

Dr. Muhammad Asif Rasheed has his expertise in bioinformatics approaches and passion in improving the health and wellbeing. He recently completed PhD studies from Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China and applied different bioinformatics approaches to predict the virulence factors in Mycoplasma bovis bacteria. Simultaneously he published review articles by applying different bioinformatics tools on proteins related to liver cirrhosis. Recently he is working on therapeutics aspects of Alzheimer’s disease.

Abstract:

ApoE4 is a major genetic risk factor due to its increase incidence of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The study was designed to predict such compounds that may helpful in designing drug to suppress the over activity of apoE4 protein. 22 natural compounds (marine, microorganism and plant derivative) were used as inhibitors and docked with apoE4 (PDB id 1B68). 6 Synthetic compounds (In clinical trials) were docked with target protein to compare and analyze the docking results with natural compounds. Compounds S-Allyl-L-Cysteine, Epicatechin Gallate and Fulvic Acid show high binding affinity i.e. -7.1, - 7 and -7 respectively. Epicatechin Gallate shows hydrogen bond with Gln156 and Asp35 and Fulvic Acid shows hydrogen bonding with Glu27. In case of synthetic compounds Tideglusib did not show hydrogen bonding with any amino acid residue of ApoE4 but show high binding affinity of -7.2 same as of natural compound S-Allyl-L-Cysteine which show high binding affinity of -7.1 but did not show hydrogen bonding with any amino acid residue. Protein-Protein interactions of apoE4 show physical and functional interaction with related proteins. Our study predict a compound Epicatechin Gallate on the basis of binding affinity and hydrogen bonding with amino acid residue as a potential lead compound which may be used as an inhibitor.

Biography:

Proven Entrepreneurial expertise in Geriatrics, Hospice, Aging life care, health care management/ futurism : a visionary with a passion in the aging health care industry

Abstract:

Dementia is a leading topic not just for researchers but also for families and caregivers involved in the care of patients suffering from them.

Dementia is not a sign or symptom of “Health Aging”! Dementia is loss of memory as a function of the brain. Dementia is not Alzheimer’s and vice versa.

Despite the advances in dementia, the research and the medications available to slow the progress of dementia, the understanding goes far and beyond the common man.

To some it is a dreadful thing to happen in later age and to some it is a burden for the rest of the patient’s life and to others it is sense of disconnection to the society or community and family.

What have we learned about dementia? What have we unlearned about dementia?

What have we not thought or even considered in dementia research? What have we missed in our focus on dementia?

Pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, nutrition, physical activity, mental activity……… and more have been considered.

We still cannot figure why some suffer from dementia and some do not. In my own career of more than 15 years caring for persons and their caregivers in the world of dementia, I have learned a few salient points.

One size does not fit all and nor should it? Don’t you agree? If so, come join me in unmasking dementia as a Health care futurist, dementia and aging life care specialist/consultant and healthtechentrepreneur!