Between February 21-24, the 14th edition of the National Alzheimer Conference took place in Bucharest, in a hybrid format, organised by Prof. Dr. Catalina Tudose, president of the Romanian Alzheimer Society (pictured, left). The purpose of the conference was to bring together the educational programmes addressed to medical specialists, psychologists and nurses, continuing the tradition of conferences dedicated to this field, by holding plenary sessions, symposia, workshops and e-posters, from the fields of clinical neuroscience, neuroimaging, genetics, results of the most recent significant researches, the presentation of the results of projects in the field carried out in Romania, new therapies and therapeutic strategies, legislative aspects regarding the rights and protection of elderly people with neurocognitive disorders.
The theme of this year's conference referred to prevention, diagnosis in the preclinical stage and current treatments. In this sense, debates took place regarding the secondary prevention of Alzheimer's disease, which aims to prevent the onset of cognitive deficits (either MCI or dementia) in people who do not have neurocognitive disorders, but who are at risk of developing the disease in the future. There were discussions about preventive interventions from international studies carried out in the last 3-4 years and whose conclusions prove that cognitive performance can be stimulated through lifestyle interventions and the reduction of vascular risk.
Ten years after the launch of the National Strategy and Plan for Dementia, the Romanian Alzheimer Society continues to draw the attention of public opinion and government authorities to the suffering and needs of patients with neurocognitive disorders and their carers. In this year's edition, the Romanian Alzheimer Society tried to highlight how the government strategies in Romania, but also private actions, improved the quality of life and the quality of care given to the elderly and showed the importance of health policies regarding the adoption of a National Dementia Plan.
