About us

The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean constitute a region of incredible exquisiteness, heterogeneity, and cultural mestizaje. It is also a region that faces enormous tensions for human development. Neurodegenerative diseases in this region are no exception. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean possess one of the largest genetic populations in the world with multiple subtypes of dementia.

Inadequate diagnostic procedures, together with limited training, low awareness, lack of basic support, stigmas, language barriers, and low socioeconomic levels, trigger enormous inequalities in dementia care.

Motivated by this increasingly broad range of dementia-related issues, a self-coordinated group of experts gathered to reflect on how practices in Latin American and Caribbean countries align with current dementia guidelines. After two years of work, they organized a consensus vision of the opinions shared during multiple meetings.

In this work, the authors identified regional gaps and strategies. The main gaps include:

• Limited reliable epidemiological data
• Lack of a regional strategy encouraging governments to establish specific mental health policies and budgets
• Lack of culturally valid assessment procedures
• Lack of a unified LAC agenda to facilitate collaboration and the rapid translation of research findings
• Strategies were also identified to address these regional needs, including:
• Dissemination aimed at increasing outputs in scientific media, educational materials, and social media
• An integration agenda aimed at expanding opportunities for debate and scientific interactions, professional training, knowledge and resource exchange
• A political agenda directed at relevant stakeholders, policymakers, government agencies, and international organizations to raise awareness of LAC challenges and support the harmonization of strategies at the global level

More recently, Agustín Ibáñez and Mario Parra coordinated the Latin America and Caribbean Consortium on Dementia (LAC-CD). The LAC-CD will be a regional organization that oversees and promotes clinical and research activities on dementia. It will focus on:

• Training the new generation of health professionals
• Establishing new networks to support multicenter research and clinical practice
• Harmonizing clinical procedures for diagnosis and post-diagnosis support
• Validating those procedures in unique populations
• Increasing the attractiveness of regional and international grant proposals arising from LAC networks rather than individual groups
• Accelerating access to knowledge and evidence-based decisions through a unified platform
• Establishing effective communication channels to reach heads of government and private agencies, persuading them of the need for integration and regional support through national and regional dementia strategies

To date, the consortium has involved more than 200 regional leaders and members from various Latin American and Caribbean countries and plans to expand its call. Most of these experts have agreed to link their studies/databases from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay to the consortium. Dr. Ibáñez received initial funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to develop a regional dementia platform. They are also preparing a second document for Latin America (with multiple professors from the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) and Atlantic Fellows as co-authors) that will present a knowledge framework for the region. Several regional grants are being prepared with external partners. They also have a world-class international advisory board (United States, several European Union countries, and Australia) that will support the consortium.