An international project led by IBS.GRANADA will design personalized physical exercise to prevent cognitive decline.
The TEIDe initiative, coordinated by the ibs.GRANADA and the UGR, and funded with 2 million euros by the EU, will develop tools to enable the prescription of physical exercise tailored to each patient for the prevention of dementia in primary care.
The Granada Biosanitary Research Institute (ibs.GRANADA) and the University of Granada are leading an international consortium of nine institutions from eight countries with the goal of halting cognitive decline before it occurs through the prescription of personalized physical exercise. The UGR and ibs.GRANADA hosted the launch meeting of the consortium on September 25 and 26. TEIDe project, whose main objective is to create early detection algorithms and exercise guides tailored to each individual so that primary care professionals can implement them in daily clinical practice, promoting more accessible, personalized, and proactive dementia prevention.
The project, funded by the European Union through the programme ERA4HEALTH (NutriBrain 2024 call), has a budget of nearly 2 million euros. Its mission is to bring scientific evidence on the benefits of exercise for the brain to the reality of healthcare centers, providing healthcare professionals with the scientific and practical tools necessary to take action to prevent cognitive decline.
Effective and personalized prescription
The consortium's starting premise is that, while exercise protects the brain, not all people respond equally to the same type of activity. Therefore, researchers will analyze which type, intensity, and duration of physical exercise are most effective based on each person's individual profile. Variables such as age, sex, physical fitness, educational level, and initial cognitive status will be key to designing tailored interventions that maximize the neuroprotective benefits of physical exercise.
The coordination of this ambitious initiative falls to the researcher of the Department of Physical Education and Sports of the UGR and the group TEC15-Nuclear and Molecular Medicine From the IBS. GRANADA, Irene Esteban-Cornejo. TEIDe brings together nine institutions from Spain, Norway, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Romania, the United States, and Canada, forming a multidisciplinary team that includes universities, health centers, hospitals, patient associations, technology companies, and experts in neuroscience, public health, and data science.
Useful resources for primary care
The expected results of TEIDe include the development of predictive algorithms to identify dementia risk, detailed guides for personalized exercise prescriptions, and digital support tools for both healthcare professionals and citizens. The ultimate goal of this collective effort will be the effective incorporation of all these resources into the routine of healthcare centers, laying the foundation for a new prevention model that offers effective tools to the healthcare system and the public for the care and protection of cognitive health.
