International researchers seek Hong Kong participants for major study to help fight dementia
A worldwide call is out for 50,000 people to take part in a project that hopes to discover causes, cures and treatment for brain diseases
Hundreds of Hongkongers were invited on Monday to take part in an ambitious 10-year international study that aims to find breakthroughs in treating and preventing dementia, brain-wasting diseases that affect the elderly the most.
The groundbreaking study aims to recruit 500 participants, who are 50 and older and can speak English, in Hong Kong to be a part of a larger pool of 50,000 people worldwide. The study is being conducted in the city by Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and University of Exeter in UK.
Once a year, participants will be required to complete online questionnaires about their health and lifestyle, along with taking part in a brain-training game and a cognitive function tests. Altogether the activities take about an hour to complete.
Researchers hope the decade-long study, called PROTECT, will reveal how people can maintain a healthy brain later in life and reduce risk of dementia.
“I’d encourage people to sign up, both for their own benefit, and to make a real difference to global research on this crucial topic,” said professor Linda Lam Chiu-wa, director of the Dementia Research Unit at CUHK.
Lam said researchers would make medical referral if they found participants develop symptoms of dementia throughout the years.
