Scheltens receives the prize because of the great impact of the research he has done during his career and because of the lifelong dedication to research and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other brain diseases that cause dementia. Everything aimed at improving diagnosis, with the ultimate goal of finding a suitable therapy. He made use of MRI measurements, biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid, and PET scans. The so-called 'Scheltens scale' for memory area atrophy (brain shrinkage) is still used worldwide. Scheltens also developed the Amsterdam-IADL-Questionnaire, which reliably measures how much impact the disease has on daily life. Furthermore, Scheltens aimed and succeeded to put dementia on the (political) agenda. Nationally, he was one of the founders of Delta Plan Dementia and the National Dementia Strategy, and internationally he played an important role as chairman of the World Dementia Council.
Farewell lecture: ‘The Alzheimer (r)evolution’
The award ceremony took place the weekend after Scheltens' farewell as professor of Cognitive Neurology at Amsterdam UMC on Friday, July 14. Scheltens, in his farewell speech entitled 'The Alzheimer (r)evolution', spoke amid great international interest about the evolution that Alzheimer's disease has gone through. From the first definition in 1906 to a description of what the situation regarding the disease will look like in 2036. He spoke about the role of biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid, blood, PET and MRI scans, and the new therapy that was recently approved and what will happen after that, because - according to Scheltens: "This is only the very beginning". Scheltens concluded by looking at the future of the academy and academic research. He argues for much better cooperation with private partners to enable faster transfer of new knowledge to application.
Inspired
Scheltens' farewell speech was preceded by a symposium, where leading (inter)national experts presented their views on the evolution and revolution surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders - inspired by Scheltens' work. The symposium emphasized the important contribution Scheltens made to knowledge about Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC
Philip Scheltens is the founder of Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, and led the center from the year 2000 until 2022. As of January 1, 2022, the management consists of Yolande Pijnenburg and Wiesje van der Flier. Together with all employees of Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, they continue the work, with the aim of preventing dementia.
Photo credits: Sterre de Boer