Queen Sofía opens Alzheimer's congress in Seville

Queen Sofía of Spain opened the International Congress on Neurodegenerative Diseases, ICND, in Seville on Monday. The opening took place on World Alzheimer's Day, and the congress brings together researchers and specialists from several countries until Wednesday.

Queen Sofía touring the scientific posters at the congress in Seville on 21 September. Photo: The Spanish Royal Household

The congress is organised by the Fundación Reina Sofía together with the CIEN foundation for research into neurological diseases, with the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville as a partner. This is the thirteenth edition.

• Received by the mayor

On arrival at the Centro Virgen de los Reyes, the Queen was received by the mayor of Seville, José Luis Sanz, and by María Ángeles Pérez Muñoz, managing director of the CIEN foundation. In the foyer she also greeted the foundation's scientific director, Pascual Sánchez-Juan, and María Dolores Almagro, president of the Spanish Alzheimer's confederation CEAFA.

Queen Sofía arrives at the Centro Virgen de los Reyes in Seville. Photo: The Spanish Royal Household

After a group photograph the Queen took her seat in the front row of the auditorium. The programme opened with a film about the congress before Pérez Muñoz welcomed those present and introduced the speakers, among them Mayor Sanz and Eva Ortega, secretary general for research.

• Biomarkers at the centre

The main scientific theme is biomarkers, measurable signs in the body that make it possible to detect Alzheimer's several years before the first symptoms appear, and by methods that do not require invasive procedures.

The opening lecture, «Amyloid and Tau PET and the Biology of Alzheimer's Disease», was given by William Jagust, professor emeritus of public health and neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley. He was introduced by Michel Grothe, who heads the CIEN foundation's neuroimaging platform.

The programme features eight thematic sessions covering areas such as inflammation in the brain, artificial intelligence, genetics and the brain's capacity to adapt. The congress has set a participation record, with around sixty scientific papers selected and displayed as posters. After the opening lecture the Queen toured the display.

• Campaign for brain tissue donation

During the opening the Fundación Reina Sofía presented its awareness campaign «Cerebros Extraordinarios», on the importance of donating brain tissue for research. María Dolores Almagro spoke on behalf of the families and carers of people with Alzheimer's.

The Spanish organisation for the blind, ONCE, marked the day by dedicating the ticket in its nationwide lottery to World Alzheimer's Day in support of research. The organisation's delegate for Andalucía, Ceuta and Melilla, Cristóbal Martínez, and the president of its territorial council, Isabel Viruet, presented a commemorative ticket to the Queen.

• Flamenco at the Real Alcázar

In the afternoon the Queen attended the flamenco concert «Recuerdos a compás» at the Real Alcázar in Seville, staged by the city of Seville to mark the congress.

The flamenco concert «Recuerdos a compás» at the Real Alcázar in Seville. Photo: The Spanish Royal Household

The performance was given by sixth-year students at the Antonio Ruiz Soler dance conservatory in Seville, with choreography by Ana Moya, guitars by Rubén Martínez and Isaac Muñoz, singing by Raquel Cabello and handclapping by Ana Moya and María José Acejo. The programme draws on cantinas and sevillanas, and ties in with the way music and dance can awaken memories in people living with dementia.

After the performance the Queen met the researchers attending the event.