On World Alzheimer’s Day, we recognise the researchers, clinicians, patients, carers and organisations working to advance the field, and reflect on our role in supporting this collective effort.
This year’s World Alzheimer’s Month campaign puts the spotlight on the importance of early diagnosis, with the message “The earlier you know, the more you can do: a dementia diagnosis matters.” Timely diagnosis can open the door to treatment, care and support, making research into earlier detection and more effective diagnostic pathways increasingly important.
For more than a decade, SYNAPSE has contributed to the management and coordination of major European research initiatives in Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and neurodegeneration. From EPAD and AMYPAD to ROADMAP and NEURONET, we have worked with academic institutions, industry partners, regulators, HTA bodies and patient organisations to support clinical research, improve the use of data and connect research communities.
Alzheimer's disease remains one of the greatest health challenges of our time. At SYNAPSE, we are proud to support collaborative research initiatives that help strengthen science towards more personalised care. World Alzheimer's Day reminds us that progress is only possible through partnership, innovation, and a shared commitment. - Montse Camprubí, Portfolio Coordinator at SYNAPSE
Today, this commitment continues through several ambitious projects, where we contribute our expertise in research project management. In line with this year’s focus on diagnosis, AD-RIDDLE brings together partners across Europe to advance the early detection and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease through an integrated toolbox of risk assessment, diagnostic and intervention tools. PROMINENT is exploring how health data and digital technologies can support more precise diagnosis and more personalised approaches to treatment, particularly as new treatment options become available.
At the sametime, EPND is helping researchers discover and access high-quality data andbiological samples related to neurodegenerative diseases. SYNAPSE contributes particularly to the project’s sustainability, helping to ensure these valuable resources can continue to support research and new discoveries beyond the project’s lifetime. Our work also extends to the wider neurodegeneration landscape through CLAIMS, which is exploring AI-supported precision medicine for people living with multiple sclerosis and where SYNAPSE leads both management and communication activities.
These projects approach neurodegenerative disease from different perspectives, but they share a common need: bringing together diverse expertise, data, technologies and organisations around a common objective. Effective project management helps make these complex collaborations work, connecting partners and activities and helping to translate scientific ambition into meaningful results.
The Real-World Implementation, Deployment, and Validation of Early Detection Tools and Lifestyle Enhancement (AD-RIDDLE) project will offer healthcare providers a toolbox platform of validated resources and tailored interventions to help detect, diagnose, prevent, and treat Alzheimer’s disease. The AD-RIDDLE consortium brings together a unique, interdisciplinary collaboration of academic institutions and healthcare providers, pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies, regulatory bodies, and patient advocacy organisations.
The aim of PROMINENT is to create a platform for precision medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative disease and co-morbidities. Therefore, it will represent the first application of the platform is in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementia disorders, with scalability to other neurodegenerative diseases and beyond.
The European Platform for Neurodegenerative Diseases (EPND) is a consortium of multidisciplinary public and private sector partners in neurodegenerative disease research. Our mission is to accelerate the discovery of diagnostics and treatments by removing barriers to data and sample sharing and fostering collaboration.
The CLAIMS (Clinical impact through AI-assisted MS care) project will run over the next 4 years to realize a companion diagnostic platform supporting the assessment and specification of disease worsening in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and making data-driven precision medicine a reality for patients with MS (pwMS).