The ICOD project (Improving COgnition in Down syndrome), funded by European Union, aims to improve the cognitive impairment of individuals with Down syndrome with AEF0217, a first-in-class new pharmacological treatment developed by the French biotech Aelis Farma, and specifically designed to this end. The project was launched in February 2021 and a first ICOD symposium was held in Troina, Italy, on the occasion of the World Down syndrome Day 2022 with a strong participation of DS families.
The second ICOD symposium will take place in Madrid in 2023 at Hospital Universitario de la Princesa on the World Down syndrome Day (March 21st). The symposium will be specifically dedicated to increase the knowledge about innovative therapeutic approaches to cognitive deficits in DS and promote the involvement of adults with DS in research. Face-to-face interaction and active discussions between families, associations of individuals with Down syndrome and researchers involved in the ICOD project will be promoted, as well as with other researchers working in the field of Down syndrome.
This event will be designed in close cooperation with the European Down syndrome Association (EDSA) and associations of each participating European country in the ICOD project; in particular with Spanish Down syndrome organizations (Down España, Fundación Down Madrid, Down Catalunya, Fundació Catalana síndrome de Down among others), Federation Trisomie 21 France, Association Française pour la Recherche sur la Trisomie 21, Italian Down syndrome organizations (AIPD and Coordown) and the Italian Task Force for DS.