Opening of Gwangju Dementia Prevention Management Center... Initiates Big Data Construction and Research Projects

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The ‘Gwangju Dementia Prevention Management Center’ held an opening ceremony and officially began its operations.

According to the Asian Dementia Research Foundation (Chairman Kim Sungjin) on the 9th, the Gwangju Dementia Prevention Management Center will promote various research projects and initiatives for dementia prevention.

The opening ceremony held the previous day at Bitgoeul Senior Health Town in Nodae-dong, Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City was attended by about 60 dementia research industry officials, including Min Youngdon, President of Chosun University, Yong Hongtaek, former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Lee Geonho, Director of the Gwangju Dementia Cohort Research Group, and Kim Hasuk, CEO of Corep Co., Ltd.

The center will participate in dementia cohort follow-up surveys and the construction of dementia biomedical big data projects together with the Chosun University Gwangju Dementia Cohort Research Group.

To this end, about 2,000 research participants will be selected annually to undergo free dementia precision tests including epidemiological surveys, basic physical examinations, blood tests, genomic tests, electroencephalogram (EEG) tests, cognitive function tests, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and brain positron emission tomography (PET).

The Asian Dementia Research Foundation was established in February this year with the goal of improving the quality of life of the public by supporting research and development of dementia overcoming technologies and fostering the dementia medical industry.

Through free dementia screening for elderly people aged 60 and over, it promotes continuous follow-up surveys of the dementia cohort and supports dementia prevention, diagnosis, and drug development by utilizing the accumulated data.

Kim Sungjin, chairman of the foundation, said, “The Chosun University Gwangju Dementia Cohort Research Group has built world-class comprehensive multimodal dementia cohort follow-up data over the past 10 years while conducting national dementia-related research projects,” adding, “The Gwangju Dementia Cohort Research Group and the Asian Dementia Research Foundation will cooperate to develop Gwangju into a global hub for dementia research and dementia-related industries.”