On 6 October, Alzheimer Europe held their second session of the Research Insights Webinar, “Brain health across the dementia continuum”. The online event brought together perspectives from people with lived experience and researchers involved in three European research projects: ABOARD, DORIAN GRAY and Multi-MeMo. The session explored different approaches to promoting brain health and preventing dementia, from addressing cardiovascular risk factors to investigating multidomain lifestyle interventions and opportunities for secondary prevention.
Gerda Van Tongerloo, a member of the European Working Group of People with Dementia (EWGPWD), shared what brain health means to her, the importance of staying active in the community and using her lived experience for advocacy and representation in research.
The first speaker was Mauro Massussi (University of Brescia), who introduced the DORIAN GRAY project and its approach to primary prevention, with a particular focus on addressing cardiovascular risk factors. Next, Mariagnese Barbera (University of Eastern Finland), presented the Multi-MeMo project, focusing on the biological mechanisms underlying multidomain lifestyle interventions. She was then followed by Kay Deckers (Maastricht University), who introduced the ABOARD project and its work on secondary prevention, exploring opportunities to support brain health and their initiatives to raise awareness of it.
A lively panel discussion and audience Q&A completed the session with several key priorities being addressed: the role of social support in strengthening adherence to treatment and lifestyle recommendations; the importance of integrating routine cognitive screening into heart failure monitoring; the growing recognition of stress management and sleep health as essential components of lifestyle interventions; and the need for coordinated policy messages that promote cardiovascular and brain health as interconnected priorities.
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