On 16 February, clinical partners in the RECOGNISED project hosted a mini-symposium updating on the progress and procedures of the RECOGNISED clinical research studies. Bringing together 21 project partners from academia, SMEs and patient organisations, RECOGNISED aims to evaluate whether non-invasive retinal tests could be used to identify people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who are at a higher risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. To do this, RECOGNISED has launched cross-sectional and prospective, observational longitudinal cohort studies, aiming to recruit over 200 participants from 11 study sites in 7 countries.
The mini-symposium provided an update on the progress and procedures for the RECOGNISED studies, to ensure good alignment between site investigators and inform the wider consortium. Noemi Lois of Queen's University, Belfast, kicked off the mini-symposium by providing an overview of the recruitment processes and progress. Next, Lieza Exalto of UMC Utrecht provided an update of the cognitive testing strategy being employed in the RECOGNISED studies, which includes the MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and CDR tests. Finally, clinical partners discussed the impact of COVID-19 on recruitment, enrollment and follow-up, identifying potential strategies that could mitigate issues in relation to COVID-19 and confinement. To find out more about RECOGNISED: