SP on Dementia and Cognitive Disorders Panel met during recent EAN Congress in Amsterdam. Co-chairs Reinhold Schmidt from Austria and Jakub Hort from Czech Republic welcomed members and announced that Prof. Dafin Muresanu from Romania has been appointed as the panel contact person for the communication between the scientific committee and the panel.
One of the most important tasks of scientific panels is preparing guidelines. In 2015, the Grade Guideline on “Concomitant use of cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine in Alzheimer´s disease: EFNS/ENS Guidelines based on the GRADE system”, developed according to the GRADE system, was published:
Schmidt R, Hofer E, Bouwman FH, Buerger K, Cordonnier C, Fladby T, Galimberti D, Georges J, Heneka MT, Hort J, Laczó J, Molinuevo JL, O’Brien JT, Religa D, Scheltens P, Schott JM, Sorbi S. EFNS-ENS/EAN Guideline on concomitant use of cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine in moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. Eur J Neurol. 2015;22(6):889-98. doi: 10.1111/ene.12707.
This was our first project using the GRADE system. It aimed to evaluate the potential benefits of combining memantine with cholinesterase inhibitors in moderate to severe Alzheimer´s disease.
In the next future, the panel aims to develop guidelines on management issues in dementia. Leaders of the project, Prof. Gunhild Waldemar and Dr. Kristian Frederiksen (Denmark), described their study. The objective of the guideline is to identify the most important management issues in dementia and to provide recommendations on how these should be managed. Following management issues to be addressed in the guideline are:
- Effects of systematic medical follow-up in dementia
- Assessment and treatment of pain in dementia
- Treatment with anti-psychotics in dementia
- Management of vascular risk factors in dementia
- Management of epilepsy in dementia
Management issues have been selected based on cost associated therewith, unmet needs, and differences and variation in practice by a panel of leading dementia specialists. Focus will be on physician related management and intended users will include neurologists, including neurologists in a non-specialist setting, and other physicians managing patients with dementia. The aim of the guideline is to facilitate better care for patients with dementia in Europe. The guideline will help funders, such as government agencies, prioritizing areas in dementia management also in places where financial resources may be scarce.
We also reviewed our activities at the EAN congresses. This year, SP Dementia and Cognitive Disorders organized a successful Symposium at EAN congress in Amsterdam on Outcome measures in dementia studies, two teaching courses: New algorithms for dementia management: from diagnosis to treatment (Level 3) and Neurosychiatric and behavioural symptoms in neurodegenerative diseases (Level 1) and a workshop on Vascular contribution to dementia. For the EAN congress in Lisbon, 2018, the programme committee approved a Symposium on The Spectrum of Dementias. A Challenge Ahead, a controversy entitled: Controversies in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and a focused workshop New directions in dementia? proposed by the GEECD, on behalf of Portuguese Neurological Society.
The following issues were next discussed:
- Liaison with the Geneva Roadmap: prof. Frisoni described the initiative, focusing on common interests, particularly the development of guidelines
- Liaison with the EADC: in the last few months, a “Memorandum of Understanding” was elaborated. Modifications were suggested on both sides but so far there is no complete agreement on this document.
- Report on contribution to ESNR Survey on Imaging in dementia: members of the panel have been invited in the last few months to participate to a survey aiming to harmonize procedures related to MRI/PET/EEG biomarkers for neurodegenerative disease studies. The study has been proposed by prof. Frisoni, prof. Nobili and Dr Jovicich in the context of a JPND initiative
- The Women Brain Project: Dr. Mariateresa Ferretti illustrated the project (see details at: www.womensbrainproject.com) and invited people interested to collaborate (info@womensbrainproject.com). Dr. Ferretti announced the 1st International Forum on Women’s Brain and Mental Health in Lausanne on December 12, 2017.
Revision of the NIA/AA criteria for AD: Proff. Philip Scheltens and Jose Molinuevo presented proposals for the revision of the NIA/AA criteria for AD. Many points were widely discussed.
by Daniela Galimberti1, Reinhold Schmidt2 and Jakub Hort3
1University of Milan, Fondazione Ca’ Granda IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico, Milan, Italy
2Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
3Charles University, Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
