(From the application): Alzheimer's disease is a major health problem and the leading cause of dementia in the Americas and Europe. Although there has been little work on dementia in the Middle East, there is evidence from our studies in Arabs residing in Israel that Alzheimer's disease has an extraordinarily high prevalence in Arabs (20% over 60, 60% over 85 years of age). This high prevalence is over three times higher than in other population, even after correcting for the effects of age, gender and education. This is an important issue because of the progressive aging of the populations of the Middle East as we enter the 21 st century. Public awareness of dementia in the Middle East is low, and many cases do not receive medical attention. The goals of this Symposium are to focus attention on neurodegenerative disorders of the aged in the Middle East, to raise scientific, medical and social, awareness of these disorders, and to enhance communication between Arab and Jewish medical and scientific personnel. It is anticipated that the meeting will lead to other studies of the disease in Middle East populations an area with unique features valuable for research, including a high rate of consanguinity, high fat diet and smoking. A target audience of clinicians, scientists, nurses, social workers, representatives of government and other agencies, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies will attend the meeting to be held in Cyprus, April 18 and 19, 2001. Attendees will be from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other Arab States as well as From Israel, Europe, and North America. Topics to be covered include dementia basic science, diagnosis, history, management and treatment, and ethics, with consideration of unique cultural traditions in Arab and Jewish populations.
