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Introduction: While Latin America (LatAm) is facing an increasing burden of dementia due to the rapid aging of the population, it remains underrepresented in dementia research, diagnostics, and care., Methods: In 2023, the Alzheimer's Association hosted its eighth satellite symposium in Mexico, highlighting emerging dementia research, priorities, and challenges within LatAm., Results: Significant initiatives in the region, including intracountry support, showcased their efforts in fostering national and international collaborations; genetic studies unveiled the unique genetic admixture in LatAm; researchers conducting emerging clinical trials discussed ongoing culturally specific interventions; and the urgent need to harmonize practices and studies, improve diagnosis and care, and use affordable biomarkers in the region was highlighted., Discussion: The myriad of topics discussed at the 2023 AAIC satellite symposium highlighted the growing research efforts in LatAm, providing valuable insights into dementia biology, genetics, epidemiology, treatment, and care., (© 2024 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)

Introduction: Latin American Initiative for Lifestyle Intervention to Prevent Cognitive Decline (LatAm-FINGERS) is the first non-pharmacological multicenter randomized clinical trial (RCT) to prevent cognitive impairment in Latin America (LA). Our aim is to present the study design and discuss the strategies used for multicultural harmonization., Methods: This 1-year RCT (working on a 1-year extension) investigates the feasibility of a multi-domain lifestyle intervention in LA and the efficacy of the intervention, primarily on cognitive function. An external harmonization process was carried out to follow the FINGER model, and an internal harmonization was performed to ensure this study was feasible and comparable across the 12 participating LA countries., Results: Currently, 1549 participants have been screened, and 815 randomized. Participants are ethnically diverse (56% are Nestizo) and have high cardiovascular risk (39% have metabolic syndrome)., Discussion: LatAm-FINGERS overcame a significant challenge to combine the region's diversity into a multi-domain risk reduction intervention feasible across LA while preserving the original FINGER design., (© 2023 the Alzheimer's Association.)

Limited knowledge on dementia biomarkers in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries remains a serious barrier. Here, we reported a survey to explore the ongoing work, needs, interests, potential barriers, and opportunities for future studies related to biomarkers. The results show that neuroimaging is the most used biomarker (73%), followed by genetic studies (40%), peripheral fluids biomarkers (31%), and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers (29%). Regarding barriers in LAC, lack of funding appears to undermine the implementation of biomarkers in clinical or research settings, followed by insufficient infrastructure and training. The survey revealed that despite the above barriers, the region holds a great potential to advance dementia biomarkers research. Considering the unique contributions that LAC could make to this growing field, we highlight the urgent need to expand biomarker research. These insights allowed us to propose an action plan that addresses the recommendations for a biomarker framework recently proposed by regional experts., (© 2022 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)

Across Latin American and Caribbean countries (LACs), the fight against dementia faces pressing challenges, such as heterogeneity, diversity, political instability, and socioeconomic disparities. These can be addressed more effectively in a collaborative setting that fosters open exchange of knowledge. In this work, the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium on Dementia (LAC-CD) proposes an agenda for integration to deliver a Knowledge to Action Framework (KtAF). First, we summarize evidence-based strategies (epidemiology, genetics, biomarkers, clinical trials, nonpharmacological interventions, networking, and translational research) and align them to current global strategies to translate regional knowledge into transformative actions. Then we characterize key sources of complexity (genetic isolates, admixture in populations, environmental factors, and barriers to effective interventions), map them to the above challenges, and provide the basic mosaics of knowledge toward a KtAF. Finally, we describe strategies supporting the knowledge creation stage that underpins the translational impact of KtAF., (© 2020 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is currently considered the main risk to global health. A variety of microbial species have been isolated from endodontic and periodontal infections. However, clinical endodontic and periodontics bacterial isolates have not been sufficiently characterized with regard to their capacity for antibiotic resistance. We aim to assess the existing evidence to estimate the prevalence of the main antimicrobial resistance and multidrug resistant organisms in endodontics and periodontics and to describe their geographic distribution in Latin America., Methods: All types of designs and will be restricted to Latin American studies will be included in this systematic review. MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, BVS (LILACS, BBO - bvsalud.org), IBECS (bases.bireme.br), Google Scholar, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science databases will be searched from 2013 to December 31, 2018 for all types of study designs that report microbial infection in endodontics and periodontics and their resistance and that define the microbiological methods used to identify microorganisms. The selection of articles for inclusion will be performed by 2 reviewers using predefined eligibility criteria. The Cochrane and ROBINS-I risk of bias assessment tools will be used to assess the methodological quality of randomized control trials. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale will be used to assess the quality of methodology in observational studies. The overall quality of evidence will be assessed using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) using the same principles and domains applied in the quality assessment of prognostic studies. The heterogeneity of the findings will be assessed using both the χ test and the I statistic. Sensitivity analysis will be performed by subgroup analyses and meta-regression to investigate the effect of study-level characteristics, such as age, gender, and methodological quality score, whenever possible. Publication bias across studies will be evaluated by visual inspection of the funnel plots and Begg's test for the results covered in 10 or more studies., Results: The evidence derived by this study will inform best practices for patients with endodontic and periodontal problems receiving antimicrobial agents., Conclusion: Successful completion will significantly impact clinical practice and contribute to improved prescribing competency., Protocol Registration: PROSPERO-CRD42018077810.