PARI’s research has identified modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors of cognitive impairment and dementia and is now investigating blood-based biomarkers

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, July 6, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Today the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC) announces the Panama Aging Research Initiative (PARI) is working with the DAC Global Cohort Development program, a groundbreaking data platform to accelerate the discovery, assessment, and delivery of precision interventions for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).

The DAC Global Cohort Development platform is driving scientific discovery by providing researchers access to an extensive, truly international platform populated with brain related health data from broad and diverse populations. It will support AI and machine learning with organized and aggregated data collected from digital devices through research labs, hospitals and even people’s own smartphones. This data resource will help determine the causes, predispositions, and habits for people who develop Alzheimer’s Disease. It may also inform drug discovery and clinical care at a more rapid pace.

PARI, led by Dr. Gabrielle Britton and Dr. Alcibiades Villarreal, is based at the Clinical Research Unit of INDICASAT AIP, a biomedical research institute located in Panama City, Panama.

Through work with blood-based biomarkers, PARI’s research on over 800 participants over sixty years of age, has identified modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors of cognitive impairment and dementia. Ongoing studies are evaluating genetic variation both in disease genes and in regulatory factors that modulate onset and progression of AD and other neurodegenerative diseases.

In collaboration and with the support of the DAC Global Cohort Development program, PARI is introducing the collection of longitudinal AD-related digital phenotypes to examine the combination of blood-based biomarkers with standard neuropsychological tests to generate molecular profiles that could lead to early and timely middle cognitive impairment and AD diagnosis.

Dr. Gabrielle Britton will be presenting “Dementia-related biomarker research in a low-resourced setting” at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (July 31 – August 4, 2022).

“The DAC initiative to leverage existing infrastructures across cohort studies around the world is of relevance to refining our assessment processes and dementia risk profiling, and ultimately, developing novel interventions in low-resource settings,” said PI Dr. Gabrielle Britton. “We are very excited to be a part of this collaborative with its inclusion of less resourced areas of the world.”

“Collaboration and inclusion are essential elements for defeating Alzheimer’s Disease,” said Dr. Rhoda Au, Director of the Global Cohort Development at DAC. “Working in silos with limited representation of participants from across the world is not producing results, either comprehensively enough or fast enough. Past studies have skewed results because of the exclusion of low- and middle- income resourced areas and/or countries. We believe the important work and scientific data from the Panama Aging Research Initiative will further advance our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease.”

Participation
The Global Cohort Development combines the best of science – collaboration, creative thinking, and discovery. Other interested researchers with cohorts that share these objectives are encouraged to apply. Because of the synergistic nature of this work, cohorts with limited resources are put on similar footing with the large research organizations. Supporters are finding this program a cost-effective way to influence the big, new ideas necessary to stem the tide of AD.

About the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative
Initiated in Davos, Switzerland, during the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in 2020, The Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative is a public-private partnership committed to aligning stakeholders with a new vision for our collective global response against the challenges Alzheimer’s presents to patients, caregivers, and healthcare infrastructures. Led by The World Economic Forum (WEF) and The Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease (CEOi) and fueled by a mission of service to the 150 million families and half a billion people inevitably impacted by this disease by 2050, DAC is a collaborative for the benefit of all people, in all places.

Pat Arcand
Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative
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