Leading institutions and organizations in Barcelona have met today to establish the Alzheimer's Hub Barcelona, a pioneering initiative born from the collaborative commitment to transform the future of research and support for people and families affected by this disease.
This unique project, which we promote with the support of the Barcelona City Council is made up of the Hospital de Sant Pau, the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, the Hospital del Mar and the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital., as well as by two leading institutions specializing in Alzheimer's research: our research center, the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), and the Ace Alzheimer Center Barcelona.
The event was opened by the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, who has highlighted that “Barcelona has decided to actively contribute to the fight against Alzheimer's. This is a city issue, and that is why, with the support of the City Council, the main institutes and research centres on the disease in the city, which are global leaders, are joining together to collaborate, pool talent and resources. Today we are sending a message of unity in favour of science. I am sure that this Barcelona union will lead to promising discoveries that will bring us closer to finding a cure for Alzheimer's.Barcelona City Council contributes one fifth of the budget.
He Dr. Arcadi Navarro, director of the Foundation, has underlined the magnitude of the challenge due to the global impact of dementia, with millions of people affected, almost a million of them in Spain, and a growing prevalence due to population ageing. In this regard, he stressed: “Given this scenario and taking advantage of the paradigm shift in the approach to Alzheimer's thanks to recent scientific advances, Barcelona must take a step forward by taking advantage of scientific leadership. The creation of this HUB will promote scientific excellence, attract investments, improve the transfer of research to clinical practice and promote training in Alzheimer's and neurodegenerative diseases.”.
During the presentation of the Alzheimer Barcelona Hub, some of the key activities that have already been carried out were detailed, such as the organization of the first Conference on "Challenges and opportunities in the implementation of biological therapies for Alzheimer's", which included the participation of the Catalan Health Service, and others that are underway or about to be launched, as well as the first call for collaborative predoctoral grants, aimed at promoting cooperative research between the HUB member centers, and training actions to improve the diagnosis and management of the disease in Primary Care, developed in collaboration with CAMFiC (Catalan Society of Family and Community Medicine).
In this sense, the Dr. Mercè Boada, founder and medical director of the Ace Alzheimer Center Barcelona and member of the HUB, has stated that “Initiatives such as these are essential to promote research and advance scientific knowledge. In particular, collaboration with CAMFiC is key to strengthening the role of Primary Care in the early diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's.”.
During the event, a document was signed by the top representatives of the participating entities, formalizing the joint commitment to promote the HUB Alzheimer Barcelona. The event was closed by the Ms. Olga Pané, Health Minister.
