Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has announced the formation of Southeast Asia's first consortium dedicated to dementia research. The Southeast Asian Consortium on Neurocognition, Neuroimaging and Biomarker Research Plus (SEACURE+) brings together 24 clinicians from across the region and beyond.
SEACURE+ aims to pool resources and data from countries representing Southeast Asia's population of 700 million people. The goal is to better understand the unique characteristics of the Southeast Asian brain and develop a unified approach for preventing and managing dementia.
The consortium began as a working group in 2023 with members from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. At its official launch, Brunei and Myanmar joined as new member countries. China and India were also inducted as honorary members to enable comparative studies between populations living in Southeast Asia and those in their home countries. This collaboration is expected to provide insight into how environment, culture, and genetics influence dementia.
Associate Professor Nagaendran Kandiah, Director of the Dementia Research Centre (Singapore) at LKCMedicine, chairs SEACURE+. The group includes neurologists, psychiatrists, geriatricians, and researchers focused on dementia.
Initial data sharing among SEACURE+ members revealed an increase in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) at memory clinics—previously these clinics saw mostly moderate or severe cases. MCI is considered a critical period where early intervention can slow disease progression.
To address this trend, SEACURE+ is advocating for coordinated regional efforts to improve early detection and management of MCI. Recommendations include validating cognitive tests for each country, developing digital diagnostic tools, adopting blood-based biomarker testing, and integrating cognitive screening into national health programs for older adults.
Assoc Prof Kandiah stated: "The trend that the SEACURE+ members are observing at their respective clinics point to more people being diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Since the signs and symptoms of early stages of MCI are usually not obvious to patients or caregivers, it is likely there are more patients who are not getting the diagnosis and management they need to lower the risk of dementia. Understanding this trend across the region and equipping clinicians with efficient diagnostic tools and management are amongst the key aims of this consortium. It will allow us to revolutionise dementia care and enhance public awareness."
SEACURE+ will use expertise from DRCS where new pharmacological and lifestyle interventions targeting blood vessel narrowing are being tested. Data from ongoing clinical trials with novel drugs will be shared with member countries. Diagnostic digital cognitive evaluations developed at DRCS will also be implemented regionally.
Professor Tan Maw Pin from Universiti Malaya said: "Southeast Asians have many commonalities in their culture, beliefs and lifestyle risk factors. SEACURE+ brings together like-minded clinicians from these countries to address a major need, with our countries being among the fastest ageing nations globally. Alongside this rapidly shifting population demographics would be an even more rapid increase in number of people living with dementia, with it being a condition affecting the older people the most. Early detection is crucial if our countries are in any way able to address this unprecedent increase in cases in dementia which has major socioeconomic impacts. SEACURE+ will be the platform for us to work together and share knowledge in order to enhance the rate of discovery and management of early dementia in our region."
Research indicates that dementia often presents differently among Asians compared to Western populations. Findings from Singapore’s Biomarkers and Cognition Study led by DRCS show that 40 percent of participants with MCI had signs of narrowing blood vessels; only 20 percent carried a gene commonly linked to Alzheimer's disease; while dysfunctions such as blood brain barrier "leakiness" were identified as significant contributors to cognitive impairment among Asians.
These findings suggest that causes behind cognitive decline may differ significantly between Asian populations and those elsewhere—highlighting a need for region-specific research approaches.
