India Tackles Dementia: A Data-Driven Approach

India is projected to experience a surge in dementia cases, with a significant portion of its elderly population potentially affected by 2030. Recognizing this growing public health challenge, the Centre for Brain Research (CBR) at IISc, Bengaluru, is pioneering a data-driven approach. Their mission focuses on understanding brain aging and age-associated disorders, aiming for early prediction and prevention of dementia.

The CBR leverages advanced statistical methods, machine learning, and AI to analyze large datasets of health information. This strategy is crucial as dementia's long, silent progression makes clinical diagnosis difficult. By identifying early and composite biomarkers, particularly through lifestyle interventions, the center seeks to halt or postpone the disease before irreversible damage occurs. This contrasts with current drug research, which has yielded limited success.

To achieve this, CBR has established both urban and rural cohorts for longitudinal studies, collecting multimodal data including clinical evaluations, cognitive assessments, and biological samples. This research aims to define India-specific risk factors and develop personalized interventions, ultimately working towards a national repository to advance dementia research and improve brain health across the country.