CNIC Conference Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Brain Health

These scientific gatherings have established themselves as a global reference for researchers since their first meeting in 2011.The increasing epidemic of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is attributed to the rising prevalence of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs). Obesity and its subsequent consequences, including cardiometabolic syndrome, are alarmingly on the rise among young people. It is evident that cognitive decline in older adults is influenced by cardiovascular health, with vascular and metabolic mechanisms proposed to underlie its etiology. Consequently, CVD is recognized as the fundamental cause of a broad spectrum of cognitive syndromes globally defined as vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). Several studies also highlight the role of CVD and cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors (CVMRFs) as adjuvants for the expression of other types of dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which has already been described as vascular dysfunction by Alois Alzheimer in his initial report on the disease.

Therefore, cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors, even in subclinical stages, emerge as significant drivers of cognitive decline. However, little is known about their interplay during their long preclinical phases and how they influence each other. Given the increasing prevalence of cognitive impairment due to progressive population aging and the growing burden of CVMRFs, there is an urgent need to better understand the mechanisms driving these processes and their interactions to implement efficient preventive strategies.

The CNIC Conference on 'Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Brain Health' will cover various critical areas in the field, including:

1. Cardiovascular determinants of brain health
2. Neuroinflammation and neuroimmune interactions in stroke and cognitive impairment
3. Neurovascular complex and clearance pathways
4. Translational challenges in stroke and vascular dementia

Organizers:

• Valentin Fuster (CNIC / Mount Sinai Medical Center)
• M. Angeles Moro (CNIC)
• Marta Cortes-Canteli (CNIC / Institute for Health Research. FJD)
• Costantino Iadecola (Weill Cornell Medicine Feil Family Brain & Mind Research Institute)

Speakers: (Preliminary list of Invited Speakers)

• Anna M. Planas (Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Barcelona. CSIC)
• Blanca Diaz-Castro (Instituto de Investigación sobre Demencia del Reino Unido)
• Helene Girouard (Université de Montréal)
• Katerina Akassoglou (Gladstone Institutes)
• Pilar Martín (CNIC)
• Axel Montagne (Instituto de Investigación sobre Demencia del Reino Unido)
• Chris Schaffer (Universidad Cornell)
• Iben Lundgaard (Universidad de Lund)
• Martin Dichgans (Centro de Neurociencias de Múnich)
• Rebecca F. Gottesman (Instituto Nacional de Trastornos Neurológicos y Accidentes Cerebrovasculares. NIH)
• Beatriz Gómez Pérez-Nievas (The Lancet)
• Eng H. Lo (Hospital General de Massachusetts / Escuela de Medicina de Harvard)
• Josef Anrather (Weil Cornell Medical College)
• Mickael Tanter (Física para Medicina París)
• Sandro Da Mesquita (Clínica Mayo)

At the conference website you can access registration to attend, check the program, and submit an abstract (Deadline: April 2, 2024).