First, you can’t find your keys. Then, when you head to the kitchen to get a glass of water, you forget for a few seconds what you’re there for. These inconvenient memory lapses happen to everyone. Not everyone, however, remembers right away what they wanted to do. Some never remember at all.
Half a million of Canadian seniors suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Early symptoms include memory loss of recent conversations and events. During later stages, sufferers develop problems with basic motor skills, experience extreme mood problems and require close attendance. Alzheimer’s disease is one of the top ten leading causes of death in North America.
To raise awareness on the disease, the Masters of Biotechnology Program at UTM hosted the MBiotech Symposium on March 10 at U of T’s Leslie Dan Pharmacy Building. One of the speakers was Dr. Jack Diamond, the Scientific Director of the Alzheimer Society of Canada. Other experts in the field addressed current research in Alzheimer’s disease and discuss the efforts of commercializing novel therapeutics.
Hundreds of physicians, academic leaders, students, patients and their families attended this open forum. “Friends, colleagues, fellow healthcare professionals,” said Adrian Xu, the marketing director of the MBiotech Symposium. “Let’s give Alzheimer’s patients a day to remember.”
More information on the MBiotech Symposium can be found at mbiotechsymposium2010.com.
