Preface

Abstract

The first France–Japan Alzheimer's disease (AD) meeting was held on 17 October 2002 in Paris as a one-day workshop. The aim of the meeting was to share the scientific knowledge and achievements regarding AD from a medical, psychological and social point of view. Recently, the early detection of dementia in the community has been emphasized in a report entitled Care for the Elderly in 2015, published by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan. In the report, it is strongly suggested that educational campaigns to increase the awareness of dementia in the general public and in general practitioners should be promoted more intensively and extensively. According to the results of a recent survey of family caregivers providing care for elderly family members with dementia, the attitude or the response of general practitioners is not always appropriate when the caregivers consulted them about their family members with dementia. In Japan, educational and training courses for general practitioners have been conducted nationwide since 2000 to improve the diagnostic skills necessary to detect the early stages of dementia in outpatient clinics. In France, a similar project called the Alzheimer Forum has been actively conducted. Although it is quite challenging to improve the attitude of general practitioners when dealing with elderly patients with dementia, it is apparent that the effort should be made to facilitate the early detection of dementia as well as to increase the awareness of dementia in families caring for the elderly at home. Thus, the sharing of knowledge and experience will be very valuable to both countries. The first meeting was chaired by Jean-Marc Orgogozo from France and Akira Homma from Japan. In the morning session, topics covering the health-care system, epidemiology in old age and vascular dementia were presented. In the afternoon session, the topics included the role of memory clinics and the diagnostic tools used by specialists in the early diagnosis of dementia; evaluation of, and prospects for, patients with mild cognitive impairment; and the French and Japanese experiences in the improvement of the dementia care system in the community. These topics were actively discussed by the participants. Although the presentations in the first meeting remained focused on the sharing of current academic research between both countries, comprehensive recommendations regarding the future prospects of care or the care-delivery system for patients with dementia will be made after the second meeting. The second meeting will be held in 2004 in Kyoto, Japan, on the occasion of the meeting of Alzheimer's Disease International.