The new edition of “Preserving the Brain” aims to focus on the importance of prevention and early treatment of widespread and still incurable diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and Multiple Sclerosis.
Organized in partnership with fifteen renowned neuroscience institutes from world-class universities and five Italian patient organizations and associations, “Preserving the Brain: A Call to Action” articulates in a scientific conference (16 – 17 October 2024) and an exhibition which will be accompanied by a series of talks (16 October 2024 – 7 April 2025) to be held at Fondazione Prada’s Milan premises.
Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by a series of modifiable risk factors, the correction of which would have major consequences on an individual and collective level. To protect ourselves from the increasing prevalence of these neurodegenerative diseases, it is crucial to act on modifiable risk factors, take care of the environment, promote healthy lifestyles, implement educational activities, and engage all actors of society and political institutions. For this reason, “Preserving the Brain: A Call to Action” will see the participation of leading research centers, academics, patient associations, and organizations that operate in the field of brain health, as well as representatives of institutions. The main goal is a productive exchange among different stakeholders to promote specific actions related to modifiable factors on neurodegenerative diseases, leading up to a “call to action” addressed to a wide population, especially younger generations.
As Miuccia Prada, President and Director of Fondazione Prada, states, “This new edition of ‘Preserving the Brain’ shows how necessary it is to create an even stronger dialogue between the scientific world and the public of a cultural institution like the Fondazione. The themes of prevention and active role of culture in this field concern everyone and specifically younger generations.”
As Giancarlo Comi, Honorary Professor of Neurology at the Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan and President of the scientific committee of “Preserving the Brain”, underlines, “these diseases are rooted in a far distant time which we have only recently begun to uncover. Almost always, it is a combination of various roots, nourished by genetic and environmental factors, that generates the pathology. Prevention, which means identifying these roots, can help block their consequences. Some of these roots we plant ourselves, therefore individuals must play a direct role in the prevention process. This implies an active role of the individual not only at the time of the disease, but also in preventing it. The scientific exhibition, organized in a way that makes its content accessible to the public, and the talks organized in collaboration with patient organizations and associations, aim at involving the entire community and all its facets in the fight against neurodegenerative diseases.”
Presented in the Nord gallery of Fondazione Prada’s Milan premises, the project will investigate the main themes addressed during the conference through scientific data and visual materials conceived by international researchers and designed by the New York 2×4 studio. The exhibition will be articulated in eight sections and a space for exchange that will host mediation activities for visitors.
The show will first explore the field of primary prevention, targeting healthy individuals without pathologies, by analyzing the environmental factors that influence the onset of neurodegenerative diseases as well as the behaviors and lifestyles that could be modified by the healthy population for preventive purposes. Moreover, secondary prevention—relative to early diagnosis and aimed at slowing down the course of the disease and reducing symptoms—will be analyzed in depth.
A series of eight meetings, developed with the patient organizations and associations involved in the project, will accompany the exhibition from November 2024 to April 2025. The meetings will be conceived with Michele Porcu and Mary Zurigo of Z.E.A. Zone di Esplorazione Artistica, a group of critical research and experimental design that investigates the various boundaries between art, design, architecture and other forms and languages of the contemporary, working particularly on fragility, supporting museum accessibility, social inclusion and artistic mediation, in projects such as “alzhalarte.” The meetings will include guided tours of the exhibition and the other projects of Fondazione Prada for patients and caregivers, moments of dialogue with young people and students, panels, roundtables, theatrical performances, workshops, and film screenings.
The conference “Prevention on Neurodegenerative Diseases” will take place at Fondazione Prada’s Cinema Godard in Milan. Under the scientific direction of Giancarlo Comi, the program has been conceived in dialogue with the fifteen research institutes involved in the project. The conference is aimed at researchers, students, and institutional figures in the medical and healthcare sectors.
Each day is divided into four thematic sessions, each one featuring three lectures and an open discussion between the scientists and researchers. Each session will address a specific topic, such as epidemiology, pollution, diet, sleep, protective factors, genes and other environmental factors, brain plasticity, and secondary prevention.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Access is by reservation on this website. The booking section will be published soon. The conference will be also streamed online.
Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Ann Romney Center for Neurological Diseases, Boston, United States; Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Sorbonne University AP-HP, Neurology department and Paris Brain Institute, Paris, France; UniSR – Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; Juntendo University Hospital, Neurology Department, Tokyo, Japan; Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) within the Helmholtz Association, Bonn, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Munich, Germany; Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, Canada; Multiple Sclerosis Centre of Catalonia, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain; Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Neurology Department, Tianjin, China; UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, United States; University College London, United Kingdom; University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Weizmann Institute of Science, Revohot, Israel; Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, United States.
The meetings connected to the exhibition and focused on five neurodegenerative diseases will be promoted by organizations, patient associations and institutions devoted to supporting scientific research such as: AIMA Associazione Italiana Malattia di Alzheimer, AISM Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla, AISLA – Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Laterale Amiotrofica and AriSLA – Fondazione Italiana di ricerca per la Sclerosi Laterale Amiotrofica, Confederazione Parkinson Italia, and Fondazione LIRH Lega Italiana Ricerca Huntington.