This talks discusses data sharing in the context of dementia. It explains why data sharing in dementia is important, how data is usually shared in the field and illustrates two examples: the Netherlands Consortium Dementia cohorts and the European Platform for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

The Medical Informatics Platform (MIP) Dementia had been installed in several memory clinics across Europe allowing them to federate their real-world databases. Research open access databases had also been integrated such as ADNI (Alzheimer’s Dementia Neuroimaging Initiative), reaching a cumulative case load of more than 5,000 patients (major cognitive disorder due to Alzheimer’s disease, other major cognitive disorder, minor cognitive disorder, controls). The statistic and machine learning tools implemented in the MIP allowed researchers to conduct easily federated analyses among Italian memory clinics (Redolfi et al. 2020) and also across borders between the French (Lille), the Swiss (Lausanne) and the Italian (Brescia) datasets.

The number of patients with dementia is estimated to increase given the aging population. This will lead to a number of challenges in the future in terms of diagnosis and care for patients with dementia. To meet these needs such as early diagnsosis and development of prognostic biomarkers, large datasets, such as the federated datasets on dementia. The EAN Dementia and cognitive disorders scientific panel can play an important role as coordinator and connecting panel members who wish to participate in e.g. consortia.

This lecture gives an introduction to the types of glial cells, homeostasis (influence of cerebral blood flow and influence on neurons), insulation and protection of axons (myelin sheath; nodes of Ranvier), microglia and reactions of the CNS to injury.

This lecture focuses on how the immune system can target and attack the nervous system to produce autoimmune responses that may result in diseases such as multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis, and lupus cerebritis manifested by motor, sensory, and cognitive impairments. Despite the fact that the brain is an immune-privileged site, autoreactive lymphocytes producing proinflammatory cytokines can cause active brain inflammation, leading to myelin and axonal loss.