The European Medicines Agency supports World Alzheimer's Day which is taking place on Wednesday 21 September 2011.

World Alzheimer's Day is held each year on 21 September and is dedicated to raising awareness of dementia and to educate and challenge people's misconceptions about dementia. In 2011, the theme of the day is 'faces of dementia'.

The Agency plays a key role in the authorisation of medicines to treat dementia. In the European Union (EU), all medicines for the treatment of diseases causing degeneration of the brain and nervous system, including dementia, must be authorised centrally at a European level, rather than in each Member State separately.

To date, a total 11 medicines for use in patients with Alzheimer's disease have been authorised in the EU on the recommendation of the Agency, including medicines for the treatment and for the diagnosis of the disease. The Agency has also recommended the authorisation of medicines used to treat other types of dementia.

Earlier this year, the Agency also carried out a public consultation on a qualification opinion for a clinical biomarker intended to identify patients who can be recruited for clinical trials of treatments for pre-dementia Alzheimer's disease. Information on this biomarker was recently published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology.

The Agency works closely with organisations representing patients with dementia through Alzheimer Europe, an umbrella organisation of 31 national Alzheimer associations from 27 European countries. It also interacts with organisations representing healthcare professionals in the field of dementia, and works with European and international scientific organisations such as the Critical Path Institute.

The Agency organises regular events and meetings, many of which cover issues related to dementia, as well as providing guidance for companies developing medicines for the treatment and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related illnesses.

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