2024 China Dementia Summit

This high-level academic conference for clinicians, academics and industry professionals working in China with international experts participating took place at the Shangri-La Hotel in Guangzhou on November 9-10 November.

Around 13 million people have dementia in China today, roughly one in four of people living with dementia in the world. With a rapidly ageing population dementia presents a significant health and fiscal challenge - the number of people forecast to be living with dementia by 2050 is forecast to by 66 million. For every country in the world, the combination of people living longer and the overall population aging presents significant public policy challenges. 

But advances in science, of both prevention and treatment, offers individual countries and the global community a route to meet the challenge.   

Alongside the World Dementia Council the meeting was programmed and organized with the Alzheimer's Association, the Guangzhou Mental Health Association, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China. 

The meeting was chaired by Lenny Shallcross, Director of the World Dementia Council, Dr Maria Carrillo, Chief Scientific Officer, Alzheimer's Association and Professor Yuping Ning Director of the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University.  

The meeting was on advances in research, prevention, diagnostics and treatments. There were a combination of plenary address and panels with contributions from academics from China and around the world. 

There were over the two days a number of keynote address. On the dementia landscape in China from Professor Jianping Jia, director of the Department of Neurology at Xuanwu Hospital. On the develop of treatments from Professor Colin Masters, laureate professor at the University of Melbourne and co-head of the neurodegereration division of the Florey Institute. On the development of biomarkers from Professor Jing Gao, professor Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Professor Charlotte Teunissen, professor in neurochemistry at the Amsterdam University Medical Centre. And on the prevention of disease from Professor Yanjiang Wang, professor and director of the Department of Neurology, Daping Hospital, Chongquig and Professor Kaarin Anstey, Director of the University of New South Wales Ageing Futures Institute. 

Panel discussions explored the themes touched on in the keynote addresses. There were also panels on real world evidence, diagnosis and laboratory control and the use of traditional Chinese medicine.

The meeting began with opening addresses from Professor Yuping Ning, Secretary of the Party Commitee of the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, the Zhihong Lai Vice Mayor of Guangzhou Municipal People's Government, Professor Nancy Y Ip, President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Morngingside Professor of Life Science and Professor Xingcun Zhao, President of Guangzhou Medical University.   

Read more about the programme and the speakers below.