"We need more aid to promote clinical trials and care for people with Alzheimer's disease", assures researcher Alberto Pérez Mediavilla, during the roundtable "The road to Alzheimer's, where are we?", held at the research center Applied Medicine (CIMA) of the University of Navarra. The event was attended by representatives of the Spanish Confederation of Associations of Relatives of People with Alzheimer's Disease (CEAFA), and the journalist Guillermo Nagore, who stars in the project "The report is the Way". During his visit to Pamplona, Guillermo Nagore presented this walking route between Finisterre and Jerusalem, in which he compiles stories related to Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia among the elderly population; age is therefore the most important risk factor. Nothing can be done about age, but there are other risk factors that can be influenced: what we eat, how much exercise we do, smoking and obesity. "We tend to think that this disease appears because neurons die. However, the most incipient stages of the loss of report are due to brain cells losing their synaptic plasticity, which is the ability to communicate with each other. Today it is known that healthy habits such as a healthy per diem expenses and the internship of physical and intellectual exercise favor this neuronal communication", explains Dr. Pérez Mediavilla.

The lines of research in this field try to search for the mechanisms involved in neuronal degeneration, in order to develop drugs that enhance the connection of brain cells. "In our laboratory we study molecules capable of increasing synaptic plasticity in animal models with very strong cognitive impairment. It is surprising to see how, after several months, these mice are able to learn and remember."

7,000 km on foot for Alzheimer's disease

The Navarre journalist Guillermo Nagore completed in Pamplona the first thousand kilometers of the 7,000 he will walk from Santiago to Jerusalem with the goal to raise awareness of the need to develop a state policy on Alzheimer's disease.

During the roundtable, Nagore broke down some of his experiences with people affected by this pathology. "I met a 75-year-old Asturian man from Asturias who decided to go to the gym every day to do weight training and be able to move Isabel, his wife, who is ill with Alzheimer's disease."

The protagonist of "La report es el camino" criticized the status loneliness in which caregivers find themselves and called for the creation of public centers to care for these patients. During the question and answer session, Dr. Pérez Mediavilla and Guillermo Nagore called for "more public aid to promote research and improve the care of people with Alzheimer's disease". For their part, Jesús Mª Rodrigo, director executive of CEAFA and Mª Rosario Leoz, member of the board board of directors of association of Alzheimer patients in Pamplona, highlighted the important role played by caregivers in the care of people with this neurodegenerative disease.