Alzheimer Europe hosts first working group meeting on the ethical issues of dementia research.
Thursday 02 June 2011
Alzheimer Europe hosted the first working group’s meeting on the ethical issues of dementia research in Luxembourg on 2-3 June. Discussions centred around:
- Involving people with dementia
- Selecting, monitoring and disseminating research and the ethical procedures for the Brains for Dementia Research brain bank
- Bioethical principals and theories and how they might relate to research
- Ethical issues linked to clinical trials, including the ethical implications of the use of placebos in dementia research
- Research linked to prodromal or pre-symptomatic diagnosis
- Psycho-social and social sciences dementia research
- Ethical issues linked to the wellbeing of people with dementia involved in research
Recommendations and guidelines on the ethical issues of dementia research will be published by Alzheimer Europe at the end of 2011.
Alzheimer Europe was represented by Dianne Gove, Information Officer and Julie Fraser, Communication Officer. Dianne is the Chair of the working group. The working group consists of 9 experts from 7 European countries [Austria - Dr Thomas Frühwald, Chief Doctor of the Department of Acute Geriatry of the Hietzing Hospital, Vienna; France – Dr Fabrice Gzil, Head of Social Studies Department, Fondation Médéric Alzheimer in Paris; Italy – Dr Carlo Petrini, Head of the Bioethics Unit of National Institute, Rome and Prof. Sandro Sorbi, Professor of Neurology, Department of Neurological Science and Psychiatry at the University of Florence; Lithuania – Dr Rasa Ruseckiene, Consultant in adult and old age psychiatry and therapist; Sweden – Dr Peter Annas, Senior Research Scientist, PhD. and AstraZeneca’s representative in the PharmaCog project; UK (England) Angela Clayton-Turner, volunteer, carer and member of the Alzheimer Society and (Scotland) James McKillop, who lives with dementia and is a founding member of the Scottish Working Group on Dementia, and his wife, Maureen McKillop, carer. Belgium will also be represented by the participation of Prof. Dr Lieve Van den Block, Ghent University and the Free University of Brussels but Prof. Van den Block was unable to attend the first meeting].
(left to right: Dr Carlo Petrini, Prof. Sandro Sorbi, Dr Thomas Frühwald, Dr Rasa Ruseckiene, Dr Peter Annas, Angela Clayton-Turner, Dianne Gove, Maureen and James McKillop. Experts not in photograph: Dr Fabrice Gzil and Prof. Van den Block).
(left to right: Dr Peter Annas, Julie Fraser, Dr Carlo Petrini, Dianne Gove, Dr Thomas Frühwald, James McKillop, Dr Rasa Ruseckiene, Dr Fabrice Gzil, Angela Clayton-Turner and Maureen McKillop. Prof. Sandro Sorbi and Prof. Van den Block not on photograph).