The MOPEAD project gathered for closing meeting in Cologne

On 1 to 2 October, the MOPEAD closing meeting took place in Cologne. The main aim of the meeting was to reflect on outstanding actions needed for the successful completion of the project and to reflect on the project’s progression. This included planification of relevant publications about the project’s scientific findings. The meeting was chaired by Mercè Boada (Project Coordinator, Fundació ACE) and Laura Campo (Project Leader, Eli Lilly). After a brief introduction by the host Frank Jessen (University Clinic of Cologne) and opening remarks by the project leadership, presentations and subsequent discussions kicked off.

The first day started with an overview of the necessary actions to ensure timely reporting. The following discussion focused on the brain imaging data which will be stored and validated at a partner site in Sweden. From this, the partners from GMV provided an overview of the results of the different approaches the project had explored to identify people with mild cognitive impairment and dementia (providing an online test, open house days at a memory clinic, engaging with general practitioners but also diabetologists). After that, the communication team co-lead provided an overview of some of their activities, including the project’s participation in a World Alzheimer’s Month campaign on social media. The day concluded with a presentation about the Innovative Medicines Initiative by Elisabetta Vaudano.

On the second day, the partners presented mostly on topics which will be fully covered in future publications. These included:

•  The technical features of the online testing

•  Results from online testing (including costs per country in which media adverts were launched)

•  A closing paper, bringing the main conclusions from the project together

•  A paper on ethical issues and the opportunities of early diagnosis in the context of the project

•  The open house days at memory clinics

•  A survey with general practitioners on their attitudes towards early diagnosis of MCI and dementia

•  Results from involving general practitioners in the screening of people with possible mild cognitive impairment respectively dementia

•  An analysis on the cost effectiveness of each of the different approaches to identify people with mild cognitive impairment or dementia.

The day concluded with an overview and discussion on the timelines for the publication of the papers and subsequent closing remarks by the project leadership thanking each consortium partner for their dedication and good collaboration.