Phase Two of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging

The Canadian Consortium for Neurodegeneration and Aging (CCNA) is an important response to the urgent health problem of Alzheimer Disease (AD) and other more rare dementias-together termed the neurodegenerative diseases (NDD)- in Canada. Our mission is to create teams and platforms that will do transformative Canadian research, advancing our understanding of AD and other NDD and leading to new therapies and prevention strategies, along with concrete improvements in the lives of People with Dementia (PWD). The first five years of CCNA have had a strikingly positive impact on the Canadian dementia research community, with meetings, workshops and increased synergy, creation of new national teams, and an increased international profile. In Phase II (2019-2024) we will build on these to make significant progress across a series of areas where Canada has specific research strength and expertise. The total budget will be 45.7 million dollars, less than the daily cost of AD and NDD to Canada. There will be 311 researchers working together, including 19 national teams under the headings of Prevention, Treatment of NDD, and Improvement of Quality of Life for People with Dementia (PWD). We will continue teams focussing on the unique needs of Rural and Indigenous communities dealing with dementia To support team research agendas, we are gathering data from a national cohort (entitled COMPASS-ND) of 2,310 individuals with different NDD and pre-dementia states. We are collecting an array of social, clinical, and biological information on each of these individuals. A second platform- CAN-THUMBS UP - will take the initial first steps towards future dementia prevention studies using combinations of novel medications with lifestyle and non-pharmacological interventions. Our overall program is bold, novel, and ambitious, and will lead to major advances on many fronts againts the NDD over the coming five years.