Clinical Research Directory

AGEWISE: Unravelling the Gut-Hormone Axis in Women's Ageing

AGEWISE is an observational study that aims to understand how changes in gut microbiome are related to hormonal changes during women's ageing, particularly across the different stages of menopause. The study will include healthy women aged 40 to 64 years living in Portugal, who will provide stool and blood samples and complete questionnaires about their health, lifestyle, diet, and menopausal symptoms. Researchers will study the gut microbiome together with hormone levels and markers of inflammation to better understand how menopause affects long-term health and to support the development of improved prevention strategies for women.

Resveratrol Effects on Inflammatory Biomarkers and Cardiometabolic Parameters.

This study aims to evaluate the effect of the supplementation of grape pomace bars enriched in resveratrol on inflammatory biomarkers and cardiometabolic parameters in community-dwelling adults

Macrophage/Monocyte Driven Inflammation and Anesthetic Sensitivity in Aging

The goal of this observational study is to determine whether macrophage/monocyte mediated inflammatory signaling contributes to reduced anesthetic requirements in older adults undergoing major abdominal surgery. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Is there a difference in anesthetic dosing requirements (minimum effective dose) between young and older patients undergoing major abdominal surgery? * How do electroencephalographic (EEG) signatures under anesthesia correlate with age and systemic inflammatory markers? * Is there an association between age, levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines, and monocyte/macrophage phenotypes with anesthetic requirements? If there is a comparison group: Researchers will compare older adult patients undergoing major abdominal surgery to younger adult patients undergoing major abdominal surgery to see if macrophage/monocyte-mediated inflammatory signaling influences anesthetic sensitivity and the risk of postoperative neurocognitive complications in the older population. Participants will: * Receive general anesthesia for major abdominal surgery, with continuous recording of anesthetic dose requirements. * Undergo electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring during the anesthetic period. * Provide blood samples for the measurement of circulating inflammatory cytokines and the assessment of monocyte phenotypes. * Provide peritoneal tissue samples (collected during surgery) to evaluate tissue macrophage populations. * Provide cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples to assess biomarkers of blood-brain barrier permeability.