(Press-News.org) HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A new study published in the American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology reveals that chronic kidney disease (CKD) accelerates cognitive decline through interconnected damage to the heart and brain—and that these pathways differ markedly between men and women.
Scientists and physicians from the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, in collaboration with the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), led the study to better understand sex-specific crosstalk within the kidney–heart–brain axis in CKD. The cross-sectional study included community-dwelling patients with equal representation of both sexes and a focus on a rural population.
The research found that men with CKD experienced greater cognitive impairment and more pronounced reductions in cardiac function than women, suggesting a stronger heart–brain contribution to cognitive deterioration in men. These findings shed light on why men with CKD often face more severe cognitive effects and point to potential sex-specific targets for early diagnosis and treatment.
“These results demonstrate that the biological pathways linking the kidney, heart, and brain are distinct in men and women,” said Sneha S. Pillai, Ph.D., research assistant professor of biomedical sciences at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and lead author of the study.
CKD affects millions of Americans, yet its relationship with cognitive impairment remains underrecognized—particularly in rural and underserved populations. By uncovering sex-dependent mechanisms of kidney–heart–brain interaction, the study opens new pathways for early screening and personalized interventions.
“Understanding how cardiovascular stress and neurodegenerative markers interact differently in men and women with CKD could fundamentally change how we approach treatment,” said Komal Sodhi, M.D., associate professor of surgery at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and principal investigator of the study. “This work underscores the urgency of tailored strategies to prevent progression to more serious neurological disorders.”
Ellen Thompson, M.D., professor of cardiology, and Zeid J. Khitan, M.D., professor of nephrology, contributed to the clinical aspects of the research. Research support was provided, in part, by the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health through the Bench-to-Bedside and Back Program (Award #736214), and by NIH grant R01 HL164460-01A1.
To view the article titled “Chronic Kidney Disease and Cardiac Remodeling Potentiate Cognitive Impairment Progression: Disentangling the Sex-Specific Crosstalk of Kidney-Heart-Brain Axis,” please visit https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00617.2025.
END
Study highlights underrecognized link between kidney disease and cognitive decline
2025-12-04
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Researchers find link between psychosocial stress and early signs of heart inflammation in women
2025-12-04
Women who report high levels of psychosocial stress, such as from caregiving and lack of emotional support, show signs of early heart tissue changes associated with cardiovascular disease – an association not observed in men, a new study reveals.
The results support the notion that there are sex-specific ways in which stress affects cardiovascular health and that risk-assessment processes should take psychosocial factors and mental wellness into account, the researchers said.
“From an epidemiological point of view, we have known for about two decades that stress is an important risk factor in cardiovascular health for people born female. But with this research ...
Research spotlight: How long-acting injectable treatment could transform care for postpartum women with HIV
2025-12-04
Q: How would you summarize your study for a lay audience?
For breastfeeding women who have HIV, consistently taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) is essential for their own health and the health of their infants. New long-acting (LA) injectable ART options, such as LA cabotegravir with rilpivirine (CAB/RPV), can help women suppress the HIV virus within their bodies — keeping them healthy and reducing transmission to their infants. Instead of daily oral pills, the injection is received every two months, making it easier for women to sustain treatment during the postpartum period and keep their medical diagnoses private.
Our study focused ...
Preempting a flesh-eating fly’s return to California
2025-12-04
The last time the New World screwworm invaded the U.S., it devastated livestock and required a decades-long eradication campaign. Now, University of California Riverside researchers are launching a preemptive strike against the parasitic fly’s threatened return.
The New World screwworm isn’t a worm at all. It’s the larval or maggot stage of a shiny, metallic blowfly, a species called Cochliomyia hominivorax. While many blowflies are harmless and play a vital role in decomposing dead animals, this particular species feeds on living flesh.
“Not all blowflies are this species. We don’t ...
Software platform helps users find the best hearing protection
2025-12-04
HONOLULU, Dec. 4, 2025 — The world is loud. A walk down the street bombards one’s ears with the sound of engines revving, car horns blaring, and the steady beeps of pedestrian crossings. While smartphone alerts to excessive sound and public awareness of noise exposure grows, few tools help people take protective action.
To address this gap, Santino Cozza and a team from Applied Research Associates, Inc. developed the Hearing Protection Optimization Tool (HPOT). HPOT was designed to move beyond traditional noise reductions ratings and highlight performance characteristics that ...
Clean hydrogen breakthrough: Chemical lopping technology with Dr. Muhammad Aziz (full webinar)
2025-12-04
Explore the future of clean hydrogen in this recorded webinar featuring Dr. Muhammad Aziz from the University of Tokyo. Discover how chemical looping technology can produce high-purity hydrogen, capture CO₂, and recover usable heat—all within a near-zero emission process.
???? In this session, you’ll learn about:
Advanced oxygen carrier materials for stable reactor performance
Process intensification strategies for efficient hydrogen production
Real-world applications in power generation, steelmaking, refineries, and renewable energy storage
Key scientific, economic, ...
Understanding emerges: MBL scientists visualize the creation of condensates
2025-12-04
By Diana Kenney
WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- One of the enigmas of life is emergence, when the whole becomes more than its parts. Flocks of birds can instantly change direction when a predator appears, guided not by a lead bird but by a collective intelligence that no single bird can possess on its own.
Multitudes of molecules skitter chaotically in a cell, but certain ones find each other, interact, and give rise to sophisticated cellular structures and functions that could not have been predicted by studying the molecules alone.
Understanding how emergent properties arise in cells – in this case, how liquid droplets called condensates spontaneously form from rapidly moving molecules ...
Discovery could give investigators a new tool in death investigations
2025-12-04
A discovery by FIU researchers could help forensic investigators close the gap on estimating time of death.
Often, death investigations rely on maggots — the larvae of blow flies that are among the first insects to colonize a body after death — to estimate how long a person has been dead. The presence of eggs or the sizes of the maggots are indicators of time since death. Yet, there is a stage in their development, where the maggot’s physical form changes very little, which limits the precision of time of death estimates. While changes may not be visible on a maggot’s outside, their ...
Ultrasonic pest control to protect beehives
2025-12-04
HONOLULU, Dec. 4, 2025 — Bees, and other pollinator species, are dying. Between pesticides, the climate crisis, and habitat loss, bee colonies are becoming weaker, leaving them more vulnerable to parasites like the greater and lesser wax moths. Vulnerable bees have cascading effects on beekeepers and food security in the apiculture industry.
A team of researchers from the University of Strathclyde and Japan’s National Agriculture and Food Research Organization is exploiting the unusual hearing of wax moths to develop a sustainable and efficient ...
PFAS mixture disrupts normal placental development which is important for a healthy pregnancy
2025-12-04
The placenta regulates the exchange of nutrients, gases, and metabolic products between a pregnant woman and the foetus, thereby ensuring healthy development. The first 90 days of pregnancy are particularly important, because the baby’s organs begin to develop during this sensitive period. Although the placenta has barrier mechanisms designed to prevent the passage of dangerous substances into the baby, PFAS can accumulate in the body, interfere with foetal development, and, in severe cases, increase the risk of miscarriage. “For an accurate risk assessment, ...
How sound moves on Mars
2025-12-04
HONOLULU, Dec. 4, 2025 — Acoustic signals have been important markers during NASA’s Mars missions. Measurements of sound can provide information both about Mars itself — such as turbulence in its atmosphere, changes in its temperature, and its surface conditions — and about the movement of the Mars rovers.
Using these sound measurements to the best extent possible requires an accurate understanding of how sound propagates on Mars. Charlie Zheng, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Utah State University, and his doctoral student Hayden Baird, who is partially sponsored by the Utah Space Grant Consortium Graduate ...