The research project, called Nutribrain and aimed at clarifying the impact of lifestyles on cognitive decline affecting a significant number of patients with chronic kidney disease, has been presented on Thursday 8 May at the Biogem Institute in Ariano Irpino. The one-day scientific meeting has involved researchers from different centers of the Old Continent (Poland, Lithuania, Holland, Switzerland, France and Italy), including Professor Carmine Zoccali (Biogem), the project’s leader.

<<This research project – says Professor Giovambattista Capasso, scientific director of Biogem – was approved and funded under the Horizon Europe 2020-2026 program, and it is the natural continuation of the pioneering four-year international network CONNECT, which is about the kidney-brain interaction (with Biogem at the forefront)>>. <<The goal of this research – adds Professor Capasso, also in his role as founder of the nephrology research area of ​​Biogem – is to fill a serious gap in our medical knowledge. To date, in fact, there is no validated intervention to fight cognitive deterioration in patients with chronic kidney failure. The proposed study, lasting three years, and starting this month, will consist of a 26-week randomized clinical trial, with a 78-week post-experiment observation>>.

<<During the trial – adds Professor Zoccali – the effectiveness of a structured program of aerobic and resistance physical exercises on the levels of cognitive function in patients with advanced chronic kidney failure and dialysis patients with cognitive decline will be evaluated>>. <<The clinical study – underlines Zoccali– will be completed by the analysis of circulating and genetic biomarkers on samples collected from participating patients, stored in the newly created Biogem biobank, directed by Dr. Antonello Calcutta and equipped with all the most modern technology in the sector. Some patients will also undergo brain fMRI, analyzed at the Department of Neurology of the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli>>.

<<This research – underlines Professor Capasso – aims to finally open the way to non-pharmacological treatment for a disorder such as the reduction of cognitive capacity, currently without cures and seriously impacting the quality of life of affected patients>>. <<And the results obtained – Capasso himself finally bets – could be translated into the treatment of even more disabling pathologies, such as dementia>>.