Southeast Asia's First Consortium Launched To Tackle Dementia

The Southeast Asian Consortium connected Neurocognition, Neuroimaging and Biomarker Research Plus (SEACURE+) will excavation resources and information typical of nan region's 700 cardinal group to amended understand nan unsocial traits of nan Southeast Asian encephalon and create a harmonized attack to forestall and negociate dementia.

The consortium began arsenic a moving group successful 2023 comprising Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, nan Philippines, and Indonesia. At its charismatic motorboat today, SEACURE+ expanded its location footprint pinch nan summation of Brunei and Myanmar arsenic caller personnel countries.

SEACURE+ besides inducted China and India arsenic honorary members. Their information will alteration comparative studies betwixt Chinese and Indian populations surviving successful Southeast Asia and those successful their location countries. This will deepen knowing of really factors specified arsenic environment, culture, and epigenetics tin style nan biologic processes underlying dementia.

Through first information sharing, SEACURE+ has identified a increasing inclination of patients presenting pinch symptoms of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) astatine representation clinics, which antecedently saw chiefly mean to terrible dementia cases. Also known arsenic pre-dementia, MCI represents a captious model wherever early involution tin slow down illness progression.

To thief personnel countries return advantage of this window, SEACURE+ is calling for stronger and coordinated location efforts to amended early discovery and guidance of MCI. These see country-specific validation of cognitive tests, improvement of integer diagnostic tools, take of blood-based biomarker testing, and nan integration of cognitive screening into nationalist wellness programmes for older adults.

Assoc Prof Kandiah said: "The inclination that nan SEACURE+ members are watching astatine their respective clinics constituent to much group being diagnosed pinch mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Since nan signs and symptoms of early stages of MCI are usually not evident to patients aliases caregivers, it is apt location are much patients who are not getting nan test and guidance they request to little nan consequence of dementia. Understanding this inclination crossed nan region and equipping clinicians pinch businesslike diagnostic devices and guidance are amongst nan cardinal intends of this consortium. It will let america to revolutionise dementia attraction and heighten nationalist awareness."

SEACURE+ will leverage nan expertise of DRCS, which is now testing caller pharmacological and manner interventions to reside nan narrowing of humor vessels. Data from ongoing objective tests pinch caller pharmacological agents will besides beryllium made disposable to personnel countries. In addition, diagnostic integer cognitive evaluations developed astatine nan Centre will beryllium rolled retired successful personnel countries.

Professor Tan Maw Pin, a SEACURE+ personnel from Universiti Malaya, Malaysia, said: "Southeast Asians person galore commonalities successful their culture, beliefs and manner consequence factors. SEACURE+ brings together like-minded clinicians from these countries to reside a awesome need, pinch our countries being among nan fastest ageing nations globally. Alongside this quickly shifting organization demographics would beryllium an moreover much accelerated summation successful number of group surviving pinch dementia, pinch it being a information affecting nan older group nan most. Early discovery is important if our countries are successful immoderate measurement capable to reside this unprecedent summation successful cases successful dementia which has awesome socioeconomic impacts. SEACURE+ will beryllium nan level for america to activity together and stock knowledge successful bid to heighten nan complaint of find and guidance of early dementia successful our region."

Dementia successful Asians often presents pinch chopped cognitive symptoms, underscoring nan request for a consortium focused connected knowing nan epidemiology of MCI and dementia successful Southeast Asia.

Findings from nan ongoing Biomarkers and Cognition Study, Singapore (BIOCIS) led by DRCS show that among participants pinch MCI, 40 per cent showed signs of narrowing humor vessels.

Researchers besides recovered that nan Apolipoprotein cistron E4 (APOE-E4), commonly associated pinch Alzheimer's disease, accounted for only 20 per cent of nan cases among study participants pinch MCI.

In addition, nan researchers identified humor encephalon obstruction "leakiness", a dysfunction wherever nan obstruction betwixt nan bloodstream and nan encephalon becomes little effective astatine regulating nan activity of substances, arsenic a awesome system contributing to cognitive impairment successful Asians.

Taken together, these findings bespeak that nan pathways driving cognitive diminution successful Asian populations disagree importantly from those observed successful Western populations, reinforcing nan request for region-specific research, diagnostics, and interventions.