On 21 September, on the occasion of the world day dedicated to neurodegenerative disease, a conference will be held on Titan to disseminate the findings obtained by analyzing 40 San Marino patients and develop an early diagnosis method
From a project on the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, which over the last seven years has involved forty patients from the State Hospital together with a researcher from the University of the Republic of San Marino and a series of doctors from the Institute for Security Social (ISS), results have emerged which will be presented in preliminary form on Thursday 21 September from 9 am in a conference organized at the university headquarters in via Salita alla Rocca 30, in the historic centre, on the occasion of the world day dedicated to neurodegenerative disease.
Coordinating the initiative is Francesco Tamagnini, director of neuroscientific research at the Center for Biomedical Studies of the University of San Marino, who is simultaneously engaged as a teacher and researcher at the University of Reading, in the United Kingdom. The study involved, among others, Susanna Guttmann, head of the Neurology department of the San Marino Hospital, her colleague Edoardo Barvas and the British academics Marc Goodfellow (Exeter University), Luke Tait (Cardiff University) and Dominic Dunstan (Exeter University) .
“This appointment – explains Tamagnini – represents the pinnacle of a path that has allowed us to identify, as we will illustrate, the presence of electrical signals in the brain that can indicate and potentially predict the worsening of mild cognitive deficit in Alzheimer's disease”.
This is an indication that the academics and doctors involved verified using a normal electroencephalogram, therefore without expensive tests, with the use of instruments already available to healthcare facilities: "For two years we followed twenty patients with mild cognitive impairment, also collecting data from ten healthy individuals and the same number suffering from Alzheimer's, all volunteers."
Alzheimer's disease is the most frequent cause of dementia, a constantly increasing phenomenon in the general population. It has been defined by the World Health Organization and the Alzheimer Disease International federation as a global public health priority. It is estimated that there are currently over 55 million people living with dementia. Around 10 million new cases every year (one every three seconds).
And while the study was underway between Titan and the United Kingdom, the characteristics of the first drugs developed to slow down the progress of a disease, Alzheimer's, for which until some time ago there seemed to be no intervention methods were released : “This – Tamagnini puts it into perspective – offers new horizons to our project and makes it even more important, because now more than ever early screening tools are necessary and useful”.
“In San Marino – explains Dr. Guttmann – at the Neurology Unit of the State Hospital for several years we have been compiling a database in which we record all the cases of people diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, 505 patients with neurocognitive disorders are being followed. There are 276 women and 229 men, with an average age of 79,82 years. The preliminary data from the study are encouraging and allow us to look to the future with confidence, thanks also to the progress of international scientific research, with the aim of improving patient care, family support, and the impact on the routines of hospitals and in general of the entire society".
The study day, organized by the University of San Marino together with the ISS, can be followed free of charge in person or remotely.
To participate you must write to biomedico@unirsm.sm. More information at event page.