They will study the role of diet in modulating proteins that may predict cognitive decline.

Research on URV will help identify diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease in the early stages and develop prevention and treatment strategies.

The Research Group on Nutrition, Nutrition, Development and Mental Health (ANUT-DSM) at the University of Rovira e Virgili is starting a project that aims to identify different proteins in the blood that can predict cognitive decline, and to study the role of diet and lifestyle on mental health. in its modulation. This research, funded by a European program and two government programs and lasting three years, will help detect diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease in the early stages and provide scientific evidence for the development of prevention and treatment strategies.

In recent years, the international scientific community has devoted efforts to identifying possible biological markers that help predict the onset of dementia in the early stages of these diseases. Currently, some of these biomarkers are available, but obtaining them requires the use of invasive methods such as lumbar puncture, which is not without risk for humans.

Project researchers, using biological samples obtained from volunteers in the extensive PREDIMED-Plus study whose long-term cognitive status was assessed, among other things, will attempt to identify various proteins in the blood associated with cognition and neurodegeneration. This will allow us to identify those proteins that are early associated with cognitive decline over time.

At the same time, the researchers will try to evaluate whether diet, physical activity or weight loss can modulate levels of these proteins, which will help understand how lifestyle changes can delay cognitive decline in older adults. Finally, the findings will be tested in another group of healthy participants or people with dementia. 

A growing problem

An estimated 55 million people worldwide suffered from some type of dementia in 2020, and this number is expected to continue to rise as life expectancy increases. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, characterized by declines in cognitive functioning (thinking, memory, and reasoning) and behavioral skills. In addition to the fact that its occurrence and progression have important economic consequences for both the individual and society, it limits daily activities, impairs quality of life and increases the risk of other pathologies. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop prevention and treatment strategies.  

In this sense, the ultimate goal of this ambitious study will not only help identify people at early stages who are at risk of cognitive impairment, but will also provide scientific evidence to develop strategies for the prevention and treatment of this condition.

The project received funding of 250,000 euros thanks to a grant from the Carlos III Institute, a grant project from the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition and the European PRIME project. It is led by researchers from the ANUT-DSM group at URV and Pere Virgili Health Research Institute Jordi Salas-Salvado and Indira Paz-GranHeyiel, which is also part of the CIBERobn network. The rest of the team consists of Nancy Babio, Jesús García-Gavilan and Alessandro Atzeni, with the collaboration of researchers from the University Hospital of San Joan and the Pere Mata Institute in Reus, as well as various postdoctoral researchers such as Hernando Margara. , who will write his dissertation on this topic.