Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar

On behalf of Prince Ahmad bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, honorary president of the Saudi Alzheimer’s Disease Association (SADA), Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar inaugurated the third International Alzheimer’s Conference at the headquarters of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Riyadh on Monday.

Following the inauguration, Prince Saud bin Khalid bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman, chairman of the SADA board of directors, signed partnership agreements with private-sector organizations including the Saudi Electricity Co., the Saudi Investment Bank, Dallah Al-Baraka Group Holdings, Abdulmohsen Al-Hokair Group and Home Experts Holdings.

Prince Faisal thanked King Salman for exerting immense care in treating the elderly in this program. He also thanked the philanthropists who have come forward via their organizations to help in this venture.

Describing Saudi Arabia as a land blessed with philanthropy, righteousness and solidarity, Prince Faisal said Islam preaches the same principles in treating the elderly in society.

He added that the conference will inform participants of the latest advances in the field of Alzheimer’s, and is a good opportunity for the Kingdom to announce its achievements in treating the disease in the past seven years.

The prince commended the efforts of Princess Madawi bint Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman, vice chairman of the SADA board of directors.

KACST President Prince Dr. Turki bin Saud bin Mohammed also addressed the gathering at the inauguration.

Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder named after German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906. Scientists have since learned a great deal about the disease.

Alzheimer’s gets worse over time and is fatal. It is the sixth-leading cause of death in the world and the most common form of dementia, a general term for loss of memory and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life.

Other types of dementia include vascular dementia, mixed dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia.

SADA’s vision is to create a world without Alzheimer’s, while optimizing awareness of the disease and the quality of living for affected individuals and their carers.

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