2011 has been declared by some EU organizations as International Year for Research on Alzheimer and neurodegenerative diseases. Within this context, the European Parliament has adopted in plenary session a report which calls for enhanced cooperation among members to improve early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer and other dementias. These initiatives are additional supports to the  firm commitment shown by the Commission in this area, as well as various research projects funded by the European Union.

Almost 10 million Europeans are estimated to suffer from some type of dementia, with Alzheimer accounting for the vast majority of cases. As the incidence of Alzheimer's disease doubles every 20 years, the situation of patients, their families and carers is very imbalanced across Europe. It is therefore a priority to strengthen efforts towards early diagnosis and prevention, research, and proper health services.

Following these path, some foundations in Europe launched a proposal for the year 2011 to be considered as the "International Year of Alzheimer's", with the aim of informing about the need to encourage research on this disease. The main objective of this event, is to raise awareness among citizens and institutions about the importance of scientific research in the field of Alzheimer's and neurodegenerative diseases, learning more, for example, about the origin of this disease as well as improve early diagnosis.

The European Union has been particularly active in research on prevention of dementia and Alzheimer's projects by funding projects such as EPITHERAPY, which has led to the creation of a memory-enhancing drug to help those affected by neurodegenerative diseases, or the project NEURO . GSK3 which studied the influence of the immune system in these diseases, and received funding through the Seventh Framework Programme.

Another step of the European Parliament in the fight against Alzheimer's

In this context, the European Parliament approved in January's plenary session the text of an initiative about Alzheimer's and other dementias which, although not binding, urges Member States to establish specialized centers and provide adequate medical equipment throughout its territory. In addition, MEPs advocate the creation of an interconnected European network of reference centers, which would bring together expertise in diagnosis, treatment and care for dementia and Alzheimer's.

Further to these efforts, the European Union has already strongly expressed its commitment on the fight against this disease. In summer 2009, the European Commission adopted concrete proposals to tackle Alzheimer’s disease, dementias and other neurodegenerative conditions, and later that year, Parliament endorsed a resolution to coordinate research across Europe on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.