San Marino hospital links help Alzheimer’s researchers

Seminar highlights clinical research collaboration with San Marino

San Marino is one of the smallest countries in Europe but offers an ideal location for health research and collaboration, University of Reading scientists are discovering.

Staff from the Unit of Neurology at the San Marino State Hospital visited the University of Reading’s School of Pharmacy to deliver a seminar on the exciting new clinical research activity being carried out together.

San Marino is a small nation enclaved by Italy with just 33,500 inhabitants.

The San Marino State Hospital falls under the management of the Istituto di Sicurezza Sociale (Institute of Social Security) and coordinates its research activity with the University of the Republic of San Marino. Coordinated by Dr Francesco Tamagnini, Lecturer in Pharmacology at the University of Reading, these institutions have been working in collaboration with Reading researchers since 2017.

Dr Susanna Guttmann, head of the Unit of Neurology, delivered a presentation about the clinical work and research activity that takes place in the Unit of Neurology, a major centre for neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, neuroCOVID and Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Dr Guttmann, along with colleagues Dr Edoardo Barvas (Neuropsychologist) and Dr Milena Cannuccia (Neurology Specialist), explored how the current network of collaboration could be extended to other preclinical scientists at Reading.

The peculiarities of San Marino’s geography and healthcare offers opportunities for innovative and impactful research due to its high life expectancy, population with low genetic variation and small number of residents per GP.

Dr Francesco Tamagnini said: “I am proud of the ongoing collaboration we have with these institutions and our AlzSM study is an excellent example of this. AlzSM is a multicentre study that aims to identify new markers that allow for the increasingly early diagnosis, treatment and care of people with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of neurodegeneration. I look forward to exploring the potential of collaborating on new projects.”