HATICE researcher Miia Kivipelto is guest editor of the special March issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine, dedicated to “Updating Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis - implications for prevention and treatment.” This was the theme of the 9th Key Symposium, organized by the journal and The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and held in Stockholm in December 2012.

During the meeting and in the working groups after the symposium, participants discussed new developments in Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and the implications these developments have for prevention and treatment of the disease.

Professor Kivipelto chaired the scientific committee that organized the event, which brought together a multidisciplinary group of about 100 researchers and clinicians from Europe and North America, including experts who had a decisive role in defining the new diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s disease. Several HATICE researchers participated in the symposium, including Dr. Edo Richard; Professors Laura Fratiglioni, Sandrine Andrieu, and Hilkka Soininen; and Drs. Alina Solomon, Tiia Ngamdu, and Francesca Mangialasche.

HATICE researcher Miia Kivipelto, professor of clinical geriatric epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet will receive the 2013 Skandia Lennart Levi Prize for her research on dementia and Alzheimer's Disease which has identified several treatable risk factors and thus provide a more optimistic outlook for the prevention and treatment of these diseases. Professor Kivipelto has demonstrated that high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, overweight, a lack of exercies and a high intake of saturated fats and alcohol are factors that increase the risk of dementia. 
The Skandia Lennart Levi Prize for health-promotive research was established to mark the 80th birthday of Lennart Levi in 2010 and is to be awarded annually over a period of five years. The candidates are to be internationally outstanding researchers active in Sweden or abroad. The recipients are selected by a panel comprised of professors from Karolinska Institutet. The prize is for SEK 100,000 (11.426 €) and will be awarded at Karolinska Institutet's installation ceremony on 24 October 2013

Source: Press release Karolinska Institutet June 24 2013

Prof. Miia Kivipelto and Dr. Edo Richard were invited to the G8 dementia summit for their expert opinion on preventing and delaying dementia which was one of the topics discussed. Dr. Richard stated that there is a need to address dementia prevention from a public health perspective and Prof. Kivipelto stressed that we need a life-course approach for dementia prevention strategies.

Promising results of the RESPONSE study are published in Heart (2013 Jun 28). The randomised controlled trial, coordinated by Ron Peters, cardiologist and member of the HATICE team in Amsterdam, shows that a hospital-based nurse-coordinated secondary cardiovascular prevention programme can add to a small but significant reduction of the 10-year cardiovascular mortality risk. This is encouraging for HATICE since it shows that nurse-led cardiovascular risk management is effective and underlines the importance of addressing lifestyle in prevention initiatives.