Addressing the effects of COVID-19 on Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease patients

阿尔茨海默病（AD）和帕金森病（AD）是两种最常见的神经退行性疾病，影响欧洲和世界各地数百万人。由于人口老龄化，AD和PD的发病率和患病率以及相关的社会经济成本和医疗保健系统负担预计将逐步增加。尽管在过去的几十年中进行了多线AD和PD相关的研究，提供了几个有希望的假设，疾病的病因仍然知之甚少。这反映在我们作出早期诊断的能力有限，以及我们无法有效治疗和最终找到治愈疾病的方法。由于COVID-19大流行，应对这一挑战的迫切需要现在更加突出。我们知道，COVID-19会影响包括AD和PD患者在内的弱势患者群体，而且我们也有强烈的迹象表明，无论先前的基础疾病如何，COVID-19往往会影响中枢神经系统，可能会产生长期影响，其确切性质和严重程度目前尚不清楚。这个多学科专家工作组，包括代表主要AD和PD患者组织的成员，将为旨在了解COVID-19感染对大脑的短期和长期后果的方法框架提供最佳实践指南和建议，这些后果与AD和PD的发展和进展的易感性有关。具体而言，该小组的建议旨在促进不同欧洲国家之间的多层次合作应对，以实现两个主要目标：（i）为COVID-19感染患者的随访提供最佳实践指南建议，特别关注AD和PD的发展和进展风险，并促进不同国家之间相关数据的共享和管理。(ii)概述选择、应用和/或开发适当诊断方法的框架，以帮助建立COVID-19感染与AD和PD疾病发作和进展之间的关系。

Alzheimers disease (AD) and Parkinsons disease (AD) are the two most common neurodegenerative diseases affecting millions of people in Europe and worldwide. The incidence and prevalence of AD and PD and the associated socioeconomic costs and burden to the healthcare system are projected to escalate because of an ageing population. Despite multiple lines of AD- and PD-related research carried out over the past decades, providing several promising hypotheses, the aetiology of the diseases remains poorly understood. This is reflected in our limited ability to make an early diagnosis, and our inability to effectively treat and ultimately find a cure for the diseases. The urgent need to address this challenge is now accentuated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We know that COVID-19 affects vulnerable patient groups, including AD and PD patients, and we also have strong indications that, irrespective of a previous underlying condition, COVID-19 tends to affect the central nervous system, likely with long-term effects, whose exact nature and severity are currently unknown.This multidisciplinary expert working group, which includes members representing major AD and PD patient organizations, will provide best-practice guidelines and recommendations for a methodological framework aimed at understanding the short- and long-term consequences of COVID-19 infection on the brain that relate to the susceptibility for the development and the progression of AD and PD. Specifically, the groups recommendations will aim to facilitate a multilevel, collaborative response between different European countries towards two main objectives:(i) Provide recommendations for best-practice guidelines for the follow-up of patients infected with COVID-19 with special focus on risk of development and progression of AD and PD as well as facilitate the sharing and curation of relevant data among different countries.(ii) Outline a framework for selection, application and/or development of appropriate diagnostic methodology to help establish the relationship between COVID-19 infection and AD and PD disease onset and progression.