Presented research on brain disease in Brussels
The Faculty of Medicine organized an international conference on brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's at the University of Bergen's Brussels Office.
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Today, dementia affects 45 million people worldwide. This number is expected to increase to 120 million by 2050, and as many as 600 million people will live with the syndrome over the next 40 years.
Watch video from the conference: Professor Bettina Husebø speaks about how to delay dementia.
At the Faculty of Medicine at the University, there are many experts in brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Some of these were organizing the faculty conference on neurodegenerative diseases in Brussels on May 23, 2019. The purpose was to make contacts with European scientists, innovators, industry and politicians.
– We traveled to Brussels to promote the faculty's work on dementia and other brain disorders. The conference is well attended by experts from all over Europe and has been a success, says Dean Per Bakke at the Faculty of Medicine, UiB.
Touching dementia movie
One of the elements that made a big impression at the conference was the screening of the film Do You Remember Me? where you meet young people with dementia and their relatives. The film was presented by the filmmaker himself, Ragnhild Nøst Bergem, who has experience with people with dementia through her own working life and family.
– With the film I want to show the people what it is actually about and show what life can be like when you are in the middle of it. The spectators may relate to something that has happened in their own lives, or they may bring something with them if they find themselves in a similar situation later, says Bergem.
Bergem has traveled around Norway to present the film, but has not presented it as much abroad.
– It was great to attend an international conference and I have certainly had many interesting conversations with participants afterwards. I have also received invitations to other international conferences in the future, says Bergem.
New meetings
Associate Professor Piers Kotting at the University of Exeter has been researching dementia for a number of years and has been an adviser to the Prime Minister's fight against dementia in the United Kingdom. He took the train from London to attend the conference.
– This type of conference where you meet colleagues and potential partners from Europe is very valuable, because you get new connections and share ideas with people you usually do not meet.
– For example, I had a very interesting conversation about innovation related to dementia with a colleague from Slovenia, which I would never have had otherwise, says Piers Kotting.
