On the occasion of World Alzheimer’s Day 2022, the Spanish Alzheimer Confederation (Confederación Española de Alzheimer - CEAFA), organised a Conference called "InvestigAcción". The conference took place at the Carlos III Institute in Madrid and was attended by the president of CEAFA, Mariló Almagro, who presented this year's demands to all those present. She stressed the need to "act in a concrete and specific way" throughout the entire dementia pathway, as well as to promote the culture of research, both biomedical (to achieve a diagnosis and treatment of the disease) and social (to improve the quality of life of those affected). The meeting was attended by health experts who spoke about biomedical research, recognising the great progress made with the appearance of biomarkers for diagnosing Alzheimer's and different genes associated with Alzheimer's disease. This makes it possible to have a greater understanding of the causes of the disease in order to be able to find better treatments. The economic cost of dementia and the importance of early diagnosis, to be able to start the corresponding treatments, were then discussed, as well as a recent study carried out, which revealed that 39% of the people who were given the IQCODE test were at risk of cognitive deterioration.
The day ended with the participation of a person diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which made the need for this research real and tangible. The fight against Alzheimer's disease and the effects and consequences it has on people, families and society was highlighted, as was the importance of making a new group visible, that of people diagnosed early, and encouraging their participation in "PEPA" (panel of experts for people with Alzheimer's disease). This speaker took the opportunity to call for the implementation of active policies to support dementia through three key tools, which exist but which need to be reviewed and funded: the Dependency Law, the Strategy for Neurodegenerative Diseases of the National Health System and the Comprehensive Plan for Alzheimer's and other Dementias (2019-2023).
