Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2023

August 3, 2023

The Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) is the largest and most influential international meeting dedicated to advancing dementia science. Each year, AAIC convenes the world’s leading basic scientists, clinical researchers, early career investigators, clinicians and the care research community to share breaking research discoveries that will lead to methods of prevention and treatment and improvements in diagnosis for Alzheimer’s disease.

This year’s conference was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands and NI Clinical Research nurses Mr Michael McAlinden and Ms Eileen Fox were in attendance, representing the Neurodegenerative/Dementia research group. Michael was a poster presenter at the conference, presenting on the NICOLA 65+ Memory and Thinking Study. The Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA) is the largest public health cohort study of ageing in Northern Ireland and the NICOLA- Harmonised Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) and is part of an international research collaboration funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in the United States of America. The NICOLA-HCAP sub-study is designed to assess prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia in a sample of 1000 participants aged 65 years and older in Northern Ireland. Research nurses from the Neurodegenerative/Dementia research group have worked alongside colleagues in the Centre for Public Health (CPH) at Queens University Belfast to successfully reach their target of 1000 participant interviews.  Read more here: Memory Matters in NICOLA – CLOSER

Michael also presented findings from the PRIME-Cognition Study, which is nested within the Prospective Epidemiological Study of Myocardial Infarction (PRIME) study. Michael presented results from a cohort of 70–90-year-old men residing in Northern Ireland demonstrating associations between hand-grip strength, anthropometrics and cognitive decline.

Michael had this to say about his experience at AAIC, “Having previously attended AAIC virtually, attending and presenting our research at a conference with over 7000 attendees has been a brilliant experience. It is a very exciting time to be involved in dementia research, with results from the Donanemab Phase 3 Clinical Trial being released live at the conference. We hope that these breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s and dementia research are only the beginning and that through research we can make a difference for people living with dementia in our own families and communities here in Northern Ireland.”

Pictured: (L-R) Mr Micahel McAlinden, (Dementia Research Nurse BHSCT/QUB), Professor Peter Passmore (Professor of Ageing and Geriatric Medicine, CPH QUB/ Consultant Geriatrician, Belfast Trust), Dr Aoife Sweeney (Research Fellow, CPH QUB), Professor Bernadette McGuinness (Clinical Professor of Ageing, CPH QUB/ Consultant Geriatrician, Belfast Trust), Dr Emma Cunningham (Clinical Lecturer in Ageing, CPH QUB/ Geriatrician, Belfast Trust) and Dr Calum Marr (Research Assistant, CPH QUB)