The National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) and the Ramón Areces Foundation are organizing the second international conference titled “Understanding the Neurovascular Network to Prevent Dementia”. The event will take place on Friday, November 20, 2026, at the foundation's headquarters in Madrid.
Dementia constitutes one of the main health challenges of our time, underscoring the urgent need for effective prevention strategies. Recent scientific evidence highlights the essential role of the neurovascular network—including cerebral blood flow, the blood-brain barrier, and cerebral drainage systems—in maintaining cognitive function and brain health throughout life.
The event will be coordinated by Dr. Valentín Fuster, Director General of CNIC and President of the Fuster Heart Hospital; Dr. Costantino Iadecola, Director of the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute; Dr. Marta Cortés-Canteli, senior scientist at the Cajal Neuroscience Center of CSIC; and Dr. María Ángeles Moro, professor and coordinator of the Cardiovascular and Cerebral Health Program at CNIC.
The program will bring together leading international researchers such as Joanna Wardlaw from the University of Edinburgh, Julie Siegenthaler from the University of Colorado Anschutz, Helene Benveniste from Yale School of Medicine, and Anne Joutel from the Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences in Paris, along with the coordinators.
From a multidisciplinary perspective, the conference will address cutting-edge advances on the contribution of vascular factors to cognitive decline: cerebral small vessel disease, regulation of cerebral blood flow, blood-brain barrier integrity, interactions between glial cells and vasculature, immunothrombosis, atherosclerosis, and brain waste clearance mechanisms.
The objective is to provide a comprehensive overview of how neurovascular unit dysfunction contributes to the development and progression of dementia, as well as the opportunities offered by new diagnostic tools and emerging therapeutic approaches for prevention and early intervention. The conference also aims to foster collaboration between scientific and clinical disciplines to drive innovative strategies for preserving brain health by strengthening vascular resilience.
The conference will be held in English, with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish available. Attendance is free until capacity is reached, upon online registration.
