The second edition of the RECUERDA conference cycle ended on Thursday 18th. This year it was held online and more than 1,600 people had registered for it. The conferences, spread over the 4th, 11th and 18th of November, were addressed from different perspectives of Alzheimer's disease by professionals from the Foundation who answered questions from participants during the meetings.
First, on Thursday, November 4, Dr. Marc Suárez-Calvet, neurologist and head of the fluid biomarkers and translational neurology research group at the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), gave the first talk on Alzheimer's, where he explained the importance of a good neurological assessment if one has memory problems and also wanted to make special mention of neuropsychologists, professionals who have a substantial role in making a good diagnosis by carrying out the corresponding memory tests. Regarding the advances in this field, he highlighted the progress of the blood biomarkers, which allow the disease to be detected very reliably and earlier, always from the research field.
Check out Dr. Marc Suárez-Calvet's talk here:
Following this conference, on Thursday 11 November, the psychologist and therapist from the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Ángeles Castillo, provided tools and resources to help caregivers of family members with Alzheimer's to live with uncertainty, identify their own stress level, and be able to manage their situation in a healthier way. Caring for a family member with Alzheimer's requires a great capacity to adapt to changes and losses, which often causes a high feeling of uncertainty that, added to the emotional impact and the volume of responsibilities, leads to high levels of stress.
Check out the talk by therapist and psychologist Ángeles Castillo here:
Finally, on Thursday 18 November, Dr. Aleix Sala, a researcher at the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), explained the importance of diet in Alzheimer's disease and which foods can promote the onset of the disease, as well as how some small changes in our diet can have a greater power than we think on our body.
Throughout the meeting, Sala stressed the oxidation process, a mechanism that our body has to protect itself from external agents, but which we lose control of with age, which can lead to the appearance of diseases. Therefore, adding foods rich in antioxidants, nuts, legumes, coffee, cocoa or olive oil to our diet is the key to having better control of our health.
Check out the lecture “From the plate to the brain. Can the fats in our diet help us fight Alzheimer’s?” by Dr. Aleix Sala here:
