Around 40 patients are currently enrolled in the clinical phase at the Lublin centre, with recruitment set to expand gradually to 100 participants, according to a press release sent to PAP.

Data from Alzheimer Europe, a non-governmental organisation bringing together 41 Alzheimer’s associations from 36 European countries, show that more than 9 million people in Europe are affected by various forms of dementia. The number is expected to exceed 14 million by 2050. In Poland, more than 600,000 people are estimated to live with dementia.

“From the demographic point of view, we are facing a huge challenge. The ageing of the population is a fact, and forecasts clearly indicate a sharp increase in the number of people with cognitive disorders and dementia in the coming decades,” said Professor Konrad Rejdak from the Department and Clinic of Neurology at the Medical University of Lublin, who leads the Polish team in the international COMFORTAGE project.

The COMFORTAGE initiative, financed under the Horizon Europe programme, focuses on early detection of dementia risk factors, monitoring cognitive function in at-risk individuals and implementing personalised health recommendations intended to slow disease progression at both individual and population levels.

According to Rejdak, dementia diseases today constitute “a serious burden on the health care system, and this burden will only increase in the future”.

“It is worth emphasising that dementia is not only a medical problem - it is also a social, economic and organizational challenge. That is why it is so important to shift the emphasis from the treatment of advanced stages of the disease to early prevention and system-wide measures that can slow down its development or delay the onset of symptoms,” he said.

Research conducted within COMFORTAGE is expected to contribute to the development of a modern model of care for people with cognitive disorders and those at risk of dementia. The model could be systematically implemented in Poland’s health care system in the future.

“If it can be demonstrated that this approach slows down the development of cognitive disorders, it may be of great importance both for patients and their families, and for the entire system. It is an investment in the future - at a time when the number of patients with dementia will continue to increase and the system's resources will remain limited,” Rejdak said.

He explained that COMFORTAGE is an observational study. Participants receive long-term follow-up schedules, regular cognitive assessments and free specialist consultations.

“Based on their individual health profiles, lifestyle and risk factors, we prepare personalised recommendations - you could call it a +recipe for healthy cognitive functioning+,” the neurologist said.

He added that a key feature of the project is that it does not impose interventions but provides patients with knowledge and tools they can use independently.

“This is a partnership and engaging approach, which we hope will translate into better long-term effects,” he said.

The project is currently in its key clinical phase. In January 2026, the University Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin joined the consortium, strengthening the link between research and daily hospital practice.

“This is a very important moment because we are starting to see how the theoretical assumptions and models developed in the project function in real clinical practice,” Rejdak said.

He noted that demographic and clinical data gathered in the study will enable the development of a dedicated electronic device for direct communication between medical staff and patients. Anonymous data will also be analysed using artificial intelligence tools, in cooperation with technological partners from several EU countries. In the future, this could allow the creation of algorithms for the management, monitoring and rehabilitation of cognitive disorders. (PAP)

PAP - Science in Poland

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