Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive disorders

Problem

Neurodegenerative dementias are one of the main causes of disability in developed countries. Alzheimer's disease is the most common, although there are many others, such as dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia, progressive aphasias and prion diseases. Currently, none of them have a cure.

The causes of these diseases are still little known and we know that a good diagnosis and a good prognosis in the initial stages are key to establishing treatments that can modify their progression.

Approach

The group, through different lines of work and a multidisciplinary team, works to better understand the causes of the various neurodegenerative dementias, the preclinical phases and the initial clinical manifestations, that is, the first symptoms. This, together with the study of different biomarkers, should enable it to establish a diagnosis as soon as possible, with a high degree of certainty and a more accurate prognosis. At the same time, it participates in different international clinical trials of modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease, both in cases of genetic origin and those that are sporadic.

Impact

In recent years, the group has described new genetic alterations and has become better acquainted with the initial phases of neurodegenerative dementias and the usefulness of different diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, as well as with the clinical-pathological correlation.

It has presented these results to international conferences, has published over 100 scientific articles and, thanks to its line of research, its members have produced various doctoral theses.

It hopes that its work will continue to expand knowledge of these diseases, which are incurable today, so that patients can receive treatments that change their natural history.