To achieve this, the Medper_DC consortium, formed by 11 multidisciplinary and reference research groups and funded with 1.7 million euros by the Carlos III Health Institute, is using a multi-level marker panel that will allow, through questionnaires and surveys, liquid biopsy, sensors, voice and gait analysis, computer applications, and artificial intelligence-based technologies, to integrate this information into a standardized protocol to be able to detect dementias early.
«It has been a very important challenge to launch this personalized medicine project with researchers from different areas of knowledge in contact with Primary Care centers, with which, through the integration of all the data we are collecting and the use of artificial intelligence, we will be able to design a model to predict if a person is going to suffer cognitive deterioration, which will allow it to be slowed down, as much as possible, with changes in their lifestyle,» Almeida explained in a statement issued by the IBSAL and collected by Europa Press.
The IBSAL researcher specified that «when Alzheimer’s disease is detected, for example, that brain is already very damaged, but if we are able to make a diagnosis as soon as possible, preventive measures can be taken, such as physical exercise, capable of stimulating connections between neurons.»
The Comprehensive Plan for Alzheimer’s and other Dementias reveals that more than 50 percent of cases of cognitive deterioration go undetected, a figure that rises to 90 percent in the case of mild dementias, whose prevalence continues to increase in Spain and is estimated to affect 700,000 people over 40 years of age in 2050.
PREDICTING THE PROBABILITY OF DEVELOPING DEMENTIA
In this context, having a predictive model of development as sensitive as possible, associated with a high probability of developing dementia, will allow for monitoring to try to prevent or delay its onset, because, as the project’s principal investigator added, «now when deterioration is detected, it is already irreversible.»
To achieve this, this multicenter observational study has recruited a cohort of 1,050 people, aged between 55 and 70 years, in the Primary Care network (AP) of rural and urban areas of six autonomous communities (Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Valencian Community, Madrid, and Basque Country), specifically in the provinces of Huelva, Albacete, Barcelona, Lleida, Alicante, Madrid, and Vizcaya.
Through a 16-month follow-up, clinical, molecular, proteomic and genomic biomarker data, behavioral tests, voice and gait studies, and demographic and social variables are being collected and analyzed by 101 researchers, including 11 epidemiologists and biostatisticians, 9 mathematicians, 56 clinicians, and 24 basic researchers, in addition to the principal investigator of the proposal.
Although the process of collecting samples has been challenging, given the enormous pressure on Primary Care, the involvement of professionals has ensured that the desired recruitment results are obtained. In fact, the ultimate goal is for the conclusions of the MedPer_DC model, agreed upon after the research and forums to be held with the autonomous communities, to be presented to the Ministry of Health to develop an implementation strategy in the National Health System.
«The ideal scenario would be to have a cognitive deterioration screening model in the future, for example, from the age of 60, because it will save a lot of money for the system. There is an increasing life expectancy and it is not the same to maintain a population for more years in a healthy way than with dementia, because it not only affects the patient and the family, but the entire society and the expenses are very high,» Ángeles Almeida concluded.