The Irish Gerontological Society wishes to thank ReMind very sincerely for sponsorship of this Symposium. A word from our Sponsors:

ReMind® is delighted to sponsor the symposium at the IGS 70th Annual and Scientific Meeting on Thursday 28^th September.

ReMind® is the ground-breaking new food supplement from MacuHealth Ltd, a leader in the food supplement industry that provides premium, scientifically tested supplements proven to nourish and care for our eyes and brain. Building on the success of its MacuPrime® supplement for Age-related Macular Degeneration, MacuHealth launched ReMind™ which contains the exact formulation tested in the recent double-blind, placebo controlled trial on early-mid stage Alzheimer’s patients at Nutrition Research Centre Ireland. This innovative study demonstrated positive effects on early to mid-stage Alzheimer’s patients’ memory and quality of life when supplemented with the daily omega-3 fish oil and triple carotenoid supplement.

ReMind™ is delighted to bring together some of the best minds in the area of healthy ageing and dementia for the symposium on the first evening of the 2023 IGS Annual Scientific Meeting.

Visit our stand at the ASM to get your own carotenoid levels tested and see if your diet is providing the daily 22mg of carotenoids required to protect your eyes and brain.

ReMind® and MacuPrime®  are distributed in Ireland by Eugene Matthews and the team at WMO Healthcare.

Symposium Speakers:

Professor Ríona Mulcahy:  Title of presentation:   “Alzheimer’s Disease:  The Story.” 

Professor Ríona Mulcahy was appointed Consultant Physician in General and Geriatric Medicine at University Hospital Waterford in 2000 and is Senior Lecturer in Medicine as well as Undergraduate Dean in the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland  (2011). Her areas of specialist interest include Dementia, Stroke, Parkinson’s Disease and Poly pharmacy in the older population. She has also extensive ongoing research including collaboration with Professor John Nolan in the South East Technological University Waterford (SETU)  looking at the role of nutrition specifically carotenoids and omega 3 fish oils  in Dementia and Age related Macular Degeneration. This work is extensively published. She was a founding member of the International Brain and Ocular nutrition conference and remains on the organization committee.  She is a senior PI for the Nutrition Research centre of Ireland and a visiting Professor in SETU. 

Ms Edel Carey:  Title of presentation:  "Féileacán Bán- A Nursing model to support an ageing in place ideology" 

Ms. Edel Carey, RGN, RNP, RANP, HDip Disability (UCD), PG Dip Cognitive and Behaviour Psychotherapy (UCC, Hons), MSc Advanced Practice Prescribing Pathway (UCD, Hons), PhD Scholarship (2021), Trinity College Dublin. Edel trained at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin as a General Nurse and her career took her across vast areas of Irish healthcare including: acute care, disability, complex behaviour, addiction, young chronic sick and brain injury.

In 2004, Edel paved her way into older persons HSE services where she worked as a clinical nurse specialist before commencing her Advanced Practice Journey (2017). Edel progressed her role developing the ANP Féileacán Bán Nursing Service officially opened by Minister Butler, December 2022. This nursing service model provides care and support from point of diagnosis and throughout the dementia journey, bringing care back to community settings.

Edel’s passion encompasses person centred, rights based care inclusive of family, to all older adults living with dementia. Her interests lie in research, particularly the 3 D’s, Non Cognitive Symptoms, interdisciplinary workings and care pathway innovation. Recent achievements: RCSI clinical bursary award, February 2023, AIGNA committee member 2023, new frontiers Presidents Prize, IGS November, 2022. Spark Ignite and HSE Excellence award’s finalist, 2022.

Professor John Nolan:  Title of presentation:  "Nutrition to support healthy ageing:  connecting the eye and brain."

Professor John Nolan is a Fulbright Scholar, South East Technological University (SETU) Professor and currently holds a Chair for Human Nutrition Research at the School of Health Science, Ireland. Prof Nolan is the Founder and Director of the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland (NRCI). His research centre studies the role of nutrition for vision, cognitive function and prevention of age-related diseases. In 2011, Prof Nolan won a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) research grant to study the impact of nutritional supplementation on visual function via two major clinical trials (CREST 281096; Central Retinal Enrichment Supplementation Trials). As part of this ground-breaking work, Prof Nolan identified how targeted nutrition can improve visual function for the general population, and for patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Current studies at the NRCI are investigating the link between nutrition and brain health and function, and over the last number of years the Nolan and team have published novel papers on how targeted nutrients enhance cognitive function for the general population and improve quality of life for patients suffering with Alzheimer’s disease. Remarkably, Nolan and team recently discovered and published how to reduce suffering for patients with vitreous floaters using targeted nutrients of the vitreous. Nolan’s work has had a major societal impact for patients suffering with AMD and for enhancing vision of the general population; for recognition,  the CREST project was recently selected for presentation at a high-level conference entitled ‘EU Research & Innovation in Daily Life’, which took place at the European Parliament in Brussels to highlight the impact of EU-funded research and innovation in daily life. Prof Nolan has published 117 peer-reviewed scientific papers on his area of research (H index = 51). A major career highlight is his role as Chair of the International Brain and Ocular Nutrition Conference (BON Conference), which is held at Downing College, Cambridge University (www.bonconference.org). See www.profjohnnolan.com for further details and access to all the (peer-reviewed) scientific publications and patents.