Since Alzheimer Europe started its work, it has completed 15 projects. Currently, the organisation is involved in a further seven projects:

a) “Dementia Research Observatory”

By developing a research database, we aim to increase the understanding of how research is carried out and inform about issues of participation. We will carry information on all aspects of research and clinical trials (explanations, the different types, where studies are being carried out) as well as an area dedicated to the issues surrounding participation (listing potential benefits, drawbacks and risk, the types of tests which may be used and ethical issues which arise). The observatory will also have glossary section.

b) “Legal rights”

Alzheimer Europe is collating information on restrictions of freedom and coercive measures in the Member States of the European Union and other European countries covered by the organisation. The results will be published in the 2011 Dementia in Europe Yearbook which will be dedicated to a presentation of European legislation on restrictions of freedom and coercive measures.

c) “Dementia Ethics Network”

In this project we hope that by identifying the ethical issues people who work in the field of dementia, as well as people who live with dementia and their carers, face, we can raise awareness of these issues and develop a platform for frank and open discussion. This year we will produce a report on the ethical implications of dementia research.

d) “Value of diagnosis”

Alzheimer Europe is the coordinator of this project, which has received support from Bayer Healthcare. The project commenced in July 2010 and will continue throughout 2011. The aim of the project is to investigate the differences in public perception and awareness of Alzheimer’s disease in a number of European countries and the United States and to identify the view of the general public on the value of a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer Europe has commissioned the Harvard School of Public Health to compile a report on the key results of the survey and this will be launched during the ICAD Conference in Paris.

e) “PharmaCog”

The Prediction of cognitive properties of new drug candidates for neurodegenerative diseases in early clinical development (PharmaCog) is a project which was started at the beginning of 2010 thanks to significant funding (EUR 20.2 million) from the Innovative Medicines Initiative. It aims to tackle bottlenecks in Alzheimer’s disease research and drug discovery. We are collaborating on this project alongside representatives from 12 academic institutions, global pharmaceutical companies and small and medium enterprises.

g) “NILVAD”

Led by Trinity College, Dublin, NILVAD is an international research consortium which aims to develop a new Alzheimer’s disease treatment over an 18 month period. It has been awarded EUR 6 million by the European Commission. The consortium is comprised of 18 European univerisities, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies and Alzheimer Europe is a partner.

h) “DECIDE”

Alzheimer Europe is also part of the consortium of the Diagnostic Enhancement of Confidence by an International Distributed Environment (DECIDE) project, which is funded through the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union. (FP7). The aim of DECIDEis to design, implement, and validate a GRID-based e-Infrastructure. Over this e-Infrastructure, a service will be provided for the computer-aided extraction of diagnostic markers for Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia from medical images. The project started on 1 September 2010 and Alzheimer Europe will help with the dissemination of research results to the patient and carer community