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Prof. Joanna Wardlaw is one of a group of scientists who have been trying for decades to solve one of the great mysteries of brain ageing. Why do some older people lose their independence more quickly than others? The Scottish clinician and brain researcher is not looking for the answer in individual changes to the brain, but in the bigger picture. A term has now become established for this new perspective on the ageing brain: brain frailty.
“For a long time, we looked at individual changes in the brain in isolation. Today we know that the brain does not age in isolated parts. Only when we consider the various changes together does the overall picture emerge that we need to make sound clinical decisions.”
The director of the Row Fogo Centre for Research into Ageing and the Brain at the University of Edinburgh is one of the world’s leading experts on brain ageing and small-vessel brain diseases. For many years, she has been researching how factors such as vascular damage or microhaemorrhages interact with brain atrophy and neurodegenerative changes – and what impact this interaction has on the cognition, mobility and independence of older people.
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Modern imaging techniques now make changes in the brain and blood vessels more visible than ever before. Specialised, highly sensitive MRI techniques, for example, make it possible to accurately visualise disruptions in connections between specific brain regions, disturbances in the flow of cerebrospinal fluid through the brain, and problems with the removal of waste products. However, individual findings often tell only part of the story. It is only when different pieces of evidence are brought together that an overall picture emerges, allowing risks to be assessed more accurately and at an earlier stage, and enabling a better understanding of individual disease progression. This, in turn, enables more targeted prevention and care. “Every single change provides an important clue. But we can only truly understand the ageing brain when we bring these clues together.”
Early detection, staying independent for longer
For Joanna Wardlaw, the aim is not simply to extract ever more information from CT or MRI scans. What matters is the benefit this knowledge brings to people. “Our aim is not to detect as many changes as possible. Our aim is to recognise the overall picture early enough so that people can live independently for as long as possible.”
At the end of September, Prof. Joanna Wardlaw will be visiting Frankfurt. At the joint annual congress of the German Society for Geriatrics (DGG) and the German Society for Gerontology and Geriatrics (DGGG), she will be discussing with geriatricians and researchers in the field of ageing the implications of this new understanding of brain ageing for prevention, diagnosis and the care of older people.
Keynote:
Prof. Joanna Wardlaw
Keynote: ‘Brain Frailty – Warning Signs, Impact and Management’
https://www.gerontologie-geriatrie-kongress.org/programm/donnerstag/session/keyn...
Joint Annual Congress of the DGG and DGGG
Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main
Westend Campus, Lecture Theatre 3
Thursday, 24 September 2026, 2.30 pm
https://www.gerontologie-geriatrie-kongress.org/
About the speaker
Prof. Joanna Wardlaw is Director of the Row Fogo Centre for Research into Ageing and the Brain and the ‘Edinburgh Imaging’ research facility at the University of Edinburgh, and part of the UK Dementia Research Institute. She is internationally recognised for her work on the pathophysiology and treatment of cerebral small-vessel disease, brain ageing and acute ischaemic stroke, as well as on the use of diagnostic imaging techniques in acute stroke. In 2007, she established a Scotland-wide network for imaging research, furthermore she has consistently provided imaging expertise for and leads several multicentre randomised clinical trials and has initiated online distance-learning courses. Wardlaw also led a UK initiative to establish standards for the management of incidental findings in imaging research and, together with international colleagues, promoted the development of standards for imaging in cerebral small-vessel disease. The researcher has published over 400 scientific articles and has been honoured with several awards and honorary memberships for her work – including, in 2018, the Karolinska Stroke Award for her lifetime’s work in advancing knowledge about strokes and the William M. Feinberg Award from the American Stroke Association for outstanding achievements in clinical stroke research.
https://www.gerontologie-geriatrie-kongress.org/
Prof. Joanna Wardlaw
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Prof. Joanna Wardlaw
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