Nutrition, gUT Microbiota, and BRain AgINg: the NutBrain Study (NutBrain) Article Swipe
YOU?
·
· 2023
· Open Access
·
· DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7778254
· OA: W4393484040
The NutBrain Study is a multidisciplinary research project that incorporates modern and advanced technologies (i.e microbiome and neuroimaging) into traditional epidemiologic design study aimed to address key questions about the role of modifiable risk factors on cognitive impairment, with a particular focus on dietary habits and their association with gut microbiota and markers of brain-ageing process. NutBrain is a cross-sectional study of community–dwelling adults aged 65 years or more living in the Lombardy Region (Italy). The study was started on October 1, 2018, and ended on January 31, 2023, and was divided into two phases: 1) participants’ screening and data collection and 2) clinical evaluation. At the presentation point, people were screened for global cognitive function and specific domains (standard neuropsychological tests). Socio-demographic characteristics (sex, age, education, living conditions, job positions) along with lifestyles (physical activity, smoking, leisure activities) and dietary habits (collected through a food frequency questionnaire), medical history (diseases), use of drugs, functional status (ADL, IADL, walking disability, weakness), and anthropometric measurements (weight, height, body composition) were also recorded. Individuals suspected to have mild cognitive impairment (MCI) at the screening phase, underwent a clinical evaluation including a neurological examination and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning (total volume, white matter, grey ventricular cerebrospinal fluid, and hippocampal volumes). In this phase, faecal samples were also collected for the analysis of the gut microbiota (16S rRNA analysis) and blood samples for the determination of the APOE genotype (presence of the ε4 allele) and biological markers of interest including inflammatory markers (CRP, IL6, TNF-α) and low molecular weight metabolites (metabolomic analysis). For each subject with a confirmed diagnosis of MCI, one/two cognitively intact controls of the same sex and age were visited and underwent the same protocol.
