Parties in the dementia field have joined forces within the Dementia Research Programme. ZonMw honors four multidisciplinary research consortia, one of which is from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and one from Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc. They try to find answers to questions such as: how can we prevent dementia and how can we improve the quality of life for people with dementia?
Mechanisms Of DEMentia
The consortium ’Fundamental research’ has been honored, in which several parties work together to answer major questions within research into dementia, under the name MODEM (Mechanisms Of DEMentia).
Led by professor of neurobiology and board member CNCR and Amsterdam Neuroscience Guus Smit, the neuroscientists will investigate the disease mechanisms underlying dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), fronto-temporal dementia (FTD), and vascular dementia. The causes of this are still largely unknown, and there are no effective treatments yet. By better understanding the disease mechanisms, we learn more about the development of dementia, the protection against it, and this gives opportunities to develop new therapies.
Project TAP
The Diagnostics (and Prognostics) consortium has been awarded funding for the multidisciplinary research consortium led by scientific director and project leader Wiesje van der Flier of the Alzheimer Center. They will look at how the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia can be improved. And by the improvement, the researchers mean: Timely, Accurate, and Personalized (TAP).
Collaboration
Not only do research institutes participate, but also educational institutions, care providers and the business community. As a result, new knowledge can also quickly reach the workplace and companies. The four awarded consortia will start before the end of the year, and a fifth National Dementia Strategy consortium application is still pending.
National dementia strategy
The Dementia Research Program is part of the National Dementia Strategy 2021-2030 of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). It fulfills an important part of VWS mission IV: By 2030, the quality of life of people with dementia will have increased by 25%. To this end, a coalition of many public and private partners drew up the Knowledge and Innovation Agenda 2020-2023, together with the Top Sector Life Sciences & Health (LSH).
