The conference, sponsored by the Saudi Alzheimer's Association (SAA), will be an event dedicated to the people in memory of the late Crown Prince Sultan, who was the organization’s honorary chairman.

The three-day meeting, which will attract world renowned scholars specialized in the disease, will also be attended by SAA Chairman Prince Saud bin Khaled bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman and vice chairperson Princess Madawi bint Muhammed bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman.

Prince Ahmed, who is the honorary chairman of SAA, Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeah, Social Affairs Minister Yousef Al-Othaimeen and KACST President Mohammed Al-Suwaiyel are slated to address the gathering at the inaugural ceremony.

Alzheimer's Disease International Executive Director Marc Wortman will also address the delegation at the opening of the conference.

During the inaugural function, SAA will sign three agreements with King Saud University, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz Medical University of the National Guard and Alfaisal University to bring them on board as strategic partners for the launch of a national campaign to deal with Alzheimer's in the Kingdom.

In a statement released for the occasion, Princess Madawi, who is also the executive chairperson of the conference’s organizing committee, said the event will be an effective platform for participants to obtain first-hand knowledge of the latest advances made in the field of Alzheimer's. Although most of the foreign speakers will make their presentations in English, the organizers have made arrangements for live translation during the two-day meet for Arabic-speaking delegates.

The foreign delegates include professor Bruno Dubois, director of Cognitive Center, Neurological Institute of the University Salpetriere Hospital, Paris; professor John Morris, director of Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging, Washington University; professor Barry Gordon, therapeutic cognitive neuroscience chair, John Hopkins University; professor Clive Ballard, director of research for Alzheimer’s Society, Kings College London, Institute of Psychiatry; Robert Daroff, professor and chair emeritus of neurology, Case Western Reserve University; and professor Howard Feldman, executive associate dean, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia.

The delegates will identify the latest scientific research into Alzheimer’s and are expected to debate the social challenges arising from the increasing number of patients, and work out ways to deal with the issue.

SAA chief supervisor Abdulaziz Almagushi said this is the first time such a conference will be held in the region. “We want to create awareness about the disease, which has already affected 2 percent of the population in the Kingdom,” he stressed, adding that besides targeting medics and paramedics, who deal with Alzheimer's patients, the association intends to carry out a national campaign in cooperation with nongovernmental organizations in the Kingdom.

He said the conference would allow attendees to exchange their experiences of Alzheimer's, and debate ways to enhance potential cooperation between different sectors. It will also raise the profile of Alzheimer’s disease in order to improve research into the disease, and draw on national experience, he added.