CNIC and Fundación Ramón Areces organise the second international conference to understand the neurovascular network and prevent dementia

The Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) and Fundación Ramón Areces are organising the second international conference, “Understanding the Neurovascular Network to Prevent Dementia,” to be held on Friday, 20 November 2026, at Fundación Ramón Areces in Madrid.

Dementia is one of the greatest health challenges of our time, underlining the urgent need for effective prevention strategies. The latest scientific evidence highlights the essential role of the neurovascular network — encompassing cerebral blood flow, the blood–brain barrier and brain clearance systems — in maintaining cognitive function and brain health throughout life.

The meeting is coordinated by Dr Valentín Fuster, General Director of CNIC, President of the Fuster Heart Hospital y Physician-in-Chief del Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York; Dr Costantino Iadecola, Director of the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute and Professor of Neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York; Dr Marta Cortés-Canteli, Tenured Scientist at the Cajal Neuroscience Centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Scientific Collaborator at CNIC; and Dr María Ángeles Moro, Full Professor, Coordinator of CNIC’s Cardiovascular and Brain Health Programme and Head of the Neurovascular Pathology Group.

The programme will feature internationally renowned researchers, including Joanna Wardlaw, University of Edinburgh; Julie Siegenthaler, University of Colorado Anschutz; Helene Benveniste, Yale School of Medicine; and Anne Joutel, Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences de Paris, alongside the conference coordinators Valentín Fuster, Marta Cortés-Canteli, María Ángeles Moro and Costantino Iadecola.

From a multidisciplinary perspective, the conference will explore cutting-edge advances in the contribution of vascular factors to cognitive decline, including cerebral small vessel disease, the regulation of cerebral blood flow, blood–brain barrier integrity, interactions between glial cells and the vasculature, immunothrombosis, atherosclerosis and brain waste-clearance mechanisms.

The aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of how neurovascular unit dysfunction contributes to the development and progression of dementia, as well as of the opportunities offered by new diagnostic tools and emerging therapeutic approaches for prevention and early intervention. The conference will also foster collaboration across scientific and clinical disciplines to advance innovative strategies aimed at preserving brain health by strengthening vascular resilience.

• Date: Friday, 20 November 2026
• Time: 09:00 CET
• Venue: Fundación Ramón Areces, c/ Vitruvio 5, Madrid
• Language: The meeting will be held in English, with simultaneous Spanish interpretation available.
• Attendance: Free of charge, subject to capacity, with prior online registration required.

More information and registration here.