Alzheimer's Association Update

We are excited about the first annual meeting of the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD). Held in Vienna, Austria, in July 2009, this was the third largest ICAD on record in terms of attendance, and the second largest in a non-U.S. location, drawing nearly 3800 scientists from 74 countries. More than 1500 abstracts were submitted, illustrating that the field of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research is at a most exciting and productive time. In fact, between 2000 and 2008, scientific abstract submissions to ICAD nearly doubled. These exciting, pre-publication reports contain the incremental advances, learnings, and major breakthroughs that will advance the field toward better diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. An additional critical role that ICAD fulfills is furthering the AD cause outside of the research community to increase public awareness and concern about AD. News media coverage of ICAD raises awareness internationally among the general public, legislators/governments, and affected individuals and families. It shines a spotlight on the very research and researchers that will bring improved quality of life to millions of people around the world. The move to an annual conference enables us to increase the frequency of that visibility. This year more than 111 million media impressions were the direct result of ICAD news coverage. We are equally excited about the additional commitments that the Alzheimer’s Association has made to broaden input and participation in developing ICAD content. For example, members of the International Society to Advance Alzheimer Research and Treatment (ISTAART) were invited to make suggestions for ICAD 2010 plenary speakers, as were members of the broader research community. Our vision is that as ISTAART matures it will become a major source for ICAD programmatic ideas and nominations for the conference’s program committee. To join ISTAART, go to www.alz.org/ISTAART. Because training new investigators and fostering collaboration is critical to the Alzheimer’s Association mission, we will continue to strive to keep the costs to attend ICAD as low as possible in order to encourage the maximum attendance at this vital meeting—a philosophy we have worked from since we started managing the meeting. The Alzheimer’s Association budgets toward a break-even position across conferences to allow for the significantly higher costs of hosting non-U.S. meetings. The Alzheimer’s Association is dedicated to the AD research community and this conference, in keeping with our collective goal of finding a cure for this disease. It is our honor and privilege to foster a vital, collegial research community by hosting ICAD now and into the future. Together, we can make real the vision of a world without AD. We thank you for your attendance and contributions in the past and look forward to seeing you July 10–15 in Honolulu, Hawaii, at ICAD 2010.