Dear Colleagues and Friends,
After the big success of the 1st International Conference on Cognitive Reserve in the Dementias and other Disorders (ResDem) in 2017, it is my great pleasure to invite you to the 2nd ResDem in Munich on 15-16 November 2019.
The traditional definition of healthy aging as years lived free from disease is replaced by a concept focussing on a process that allows individuals to maintain their normal function as they age. This is in stark contrast to the usual healthcare and public health approaches, which mostly aim at identifying and treating acute illnesses rather than maintaining the intrinsic capacities throughout the life course. This paradigm shift in the definition of healthy aging will have to be followed by a process of redesigning our health care approaches with a stronger focus on preserving function.
The concept of reserve was established to account for the observation that a given degree of brain pathology may result in different degrees of symptoms in different individuals. There is a large amount of evidence on epidemiological risk and protective factors for neurodegenerative diseases and dementia, but the biological mechanisms that underpin the protective effects of certain lifestyle and physiological variables are not yet understood, which limits the development of more effective preventive and treatment strategies.
ResDem aims to establish a forum for the global cognitive reserve scientific community, focusing on the interface between basic, clinical and epidemiological research and on factors and mechanisms that may promote individual brain health and prevent or delay the onset of dementia. We want to promote exchange of innovative ideas between the leading scientists and to train a new generation of young researchers.
There will be plenty of opportunity to network.
We cordially invite you to join us in beautiful Munich!