On 18 September, partners working on the EU-funded RECOGNISED project met during an General Assembly meeting, held online and in-person in Barcelona, co-Chaired by Prof. Rafael Simo (Vall d’Hebron University Hospital) and Prof. Noemi Lois (Queen's University, Belfast), the co-Leads of the project. Attended by representatives of the 21 Institutions participating in RECOGNISED, including academic institutions, SMEs and patient organisations, the General Assembly (GA) meeting summarised recent project developments and provided a forum for discussing upcoming plans. Alzheimer Europe was represented by Angela Bradshaw.
RECOGNISED is studying the biological mechanisms that cause changes in the retina in people with type 2 diabetes, to determine whether these mechanisms play a role in the development of cognitive impairment and dementia. Importantly, RECOGNISED is assessing whether evaluating the retina, easily accessible with non-invasive tests, could help in identifying earlier cognitive impairment in people with T2D, so that appropriate support can be given. At the General Assembly meeting, consortium members presented and discussed their preliminary results and future perspectives. A particular highlight was the cross-sectional clinical study, which has successfully recruited almost 250 participants with excellent retention at the 12-month mark.
Leaders of the workpackages focusing on preclinical research also showcased several recent publications looking at the biological changes underlying retinal and cognitive dysfunction in diabetes. The afternoon sessions of the GA were focused on exploitation, dissemination and communications, highlighting some of the considerations for business development and underlining the importance of disseminating RECOGNISED outputs to relevant stakeholders. Prof. Lois and Simo closed the General Assembly meeting by thanking all attendees for their valuable input, and continued efforts on behalf of the project.
