Several Brussels universities and university hospitals are collaborating for the first time in sharing information and results from Alzheimer’s research.
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), UZ Brussel, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Erasmus Hospital, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) and Cliniques Universitaires St. Luc are now collaborating via a digital ecosystem called Translate-AD, VUB announced in a press release.
Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common form of dementia in Belgium, affecting an estimated 200,000 people. Six percent of those affected are younger than 65.
Despite its growing prevalence, many questions about the disease remain unanswered.
Through Translate-AD, the partners hope to make significant strides in Alzheimer’s treatment by sharing anonymised patient data for the first time. Improved data sharing could help identify certain biomarkers—’fingerprints’ of the disease—that aid diagnosis and prognosis.
Translate-AD enables researchers to collectively tackle Alzheimer’s-related questions. A specific research query is sent from the central research computer to local hospital servers, which then gather all relevant anonymised data. The local server returns the results to the central computer.
“Our three Brussels memory clinics are recognised as European reference centres for scientific research into Alzheimer’s treatment,” said VUB Professor Dr Sebastiaan Engelborghs, coordinator of the research. “This will undoubtedly lead to better diagnosis and treatment for those with the disease or at risk of developing symptoms.”
