[One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day One Thousand Characters] Top Experts on Brain Health and Dementia Are Coming

As South Korea approaches a super-aged society, Asia Economy will hold the ‘2023 Good Brain Conference’ on the 20th, proposing management, treatment, and prevention for a healthy old age. Although medical technology has extended human lifespan, some brain diseases remain unconquered. In particular, dementia has been known for over 100 years but remains an unresolved challenge.

According to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of dementia patients aged 60 and over increased annually from 863,542 in 2020 to 910,726 in 2021, and 950,351 in 2022. Statistics Korea estimates that by 2050, the number of dementia patients will exceed 3 million. The personal cost of caring for one dementia patient, excluding government support, amounts to 20.61 million KRW per year. Research in academia and the medical field to overcome dementia continues. New treatments such as digital therapeutics (DTx) are also being attempted. Digital therapeutics are software medical devices that provide evidence-based therapeutic interventions to patients to prevent, manage, or treat medical disorders or diseases.

The ‘2023 Good Brain Conference’ brings together top experts from various fields to explore the present and future of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for brain health in the era of longevity. It also provides a forum to discuss trends and challenges in the digital healthcare market. At the event, Professor Heewon Jung, a geriatrician at Seoul Asan Medical Center and author of You Can Also Age Slowly, will deliver the keynote speech introducing lifestyle methods to slow aging. Professor Jung has appeared on TV programs such as You Quiz on the Block, correcting misconceptions about aging and promoting healthy aging. Neuroscientist Dr. Dongseon Jang will lecture on how a healthy brain affects our thoughts and behaviors and on brain habits that prevent aging. Dr. Jang is the director of the Curious Brain Research Institute and a full-time professor at Hanyang University. His books include How AI Changes the World and The Brain Wants to Dance. Dongwon Yang, chairman of the Korean Dementia Association and professor of neurology at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, will discuss ‘Dementia Diagnosis, Trends, and Implications,’ and Ki-young Jung, president of the Korean Sleep Research Society and professor of neurology at Seoul National University, will explain the relationship between sleep and brain health. Additionally, Eun-guk Seo, professor of psychology at Yonsei University and author of The Origin of Happiness, will give a special lecture titled ‘Happiness is the Brain’s Go Signal.’

In the afternoon session, Eunhee Mook, director of the Dementia Overcoming Research and Development Project Group, will analyze domestic and international dementia R&D trends and future competitiveness. Following this, Jaejun Jung, CEO of Aribio, which is developing oral dementia treatments, will lecture on the future of Korea’s bio industry and dementia therapeutics. Aribio’s AR1001 is a treatment that suppresses dementia progression and improves patients’ memory and cognitive function. Sungji Kang, CEO of Welt, will discuss the development case of insomnia DTx and future challenges. Welt’s software ‘WELT-I’ was approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety as the second domestic digital therapeutic device.

Finally, government and industry representatives will gather to discuss policy directions for popularizing digital healthcare. Jaejin Kim, president of the Korean Digital Therapeutics Association and professor of psychiatry at Gangnam Severance Hospital, will chair the session. Panelists include Youngae Jung from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, Sungji Kang of Welt, Youheon Noh, co-CEO of Imocog, and Jungil Bin, CEO of Neurofit.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.