Dr. Iris Blotenberg receives Alzheimer Forschung Initiative funding

Dr. Iris Blotenberg, Postdoc in the research group of Prof. René Thyrian at the DZNE site Greifswald, receives a grant of approximately 60,000 euros from the non-profit Alzheimer Forschung Initiative e. V. (AFI). In addition to Iris Blotenberg, eleven other researchers were funded for their work in the field of Alzheimer's disease.

Psychologist Blotenberg receives funding for her research project "Kann der Lebensstil den Verlauf einer Demenz beeinflussen?". Many scientific studies have shown that the risk of Alzheimer's can be reduced through a healthy lifestyle. However, little research has been conducted into the factors that can slow down the progression of an ongoing dementia.

Iris Blotenberg will investigate that in her research project. She also wants to find out why dementia progresses at different paces. Her project is based on data from the DZNE study DelpHi-MV („Demenz: lebensweltorientierte und personenzentrierte Hilfen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern“): a major study in which people with dementia from the age of 70 were examined over a period of eight years. All participants in the study lived at home. Dr. Blotenberg's research team will now examine the collected data for three core symptoms in order to describe the different courses of the disease. These are cognitive abilities (e.g. memory functions), everyday skills (e.g. shopping) and neuropsychiatric symptoms (e.g. depression). As influencing factors, concomitant diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure are investigated, as well as lifestyle factors such as exercise and smoking, which are suspected of having a positive or negative influence on the course of dementia.

Dr. Blotenberg's and her team's aim of the project is to contribute to a better understanding of the progression of dementia in order to develop approaches for slowing down the progression of symptoms in people with dementia. The project will run for two years and the fund will be used for salaries, a statistics program, congress travel and publication costs.

^{February 2024}