Professor Giovanni Scapagnini MD PhD
Assistant Professor, Institute of Neurological Sciences, Italian National Research Council, Catania, Italy
Assistant Professor, Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, West Virginia University, Rockville (MD), USA
Visiting Professor, Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland, Baltimore (MD), USA

Professor Scapagnini attended the University of Catania School of Medicine and Surgery in Catania, Italy and graduated in 1992 with a medical degree. He continued his education by obtaining a Ph.D. in Neurobiology also from the University of Catania in 2000. Since completing his education, Dr. Scapagnini has conducted research with the Institute of Pharmacology School of Medicine associated with the University of Catania and has worked as a Visiting Scientist with Department of Surgical Research, Northwick Park Institute for Medical Research, Harrow, UK in 1999, and with Laboratory of Adaptive Systems, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD, USA in 2000. Dr. Scapagnini currently holds two academic positions as Assistant Professor with the Institute of Neurological Sciences, Italian National Research Council and with Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, West Virginia University. He has recently obtained a visiting professorship with the Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland, where he is in charge of a research project on HIV dementia. He is also the scientific director of the “Research & Progress” foundation, founded by Dr Robert C. Gallo. He is author of 35 indexed scientific papers and several book chapters. His fields of research regard gene expression profiles of cellular stress response and biology and molecular mechanisms of brain aging and nerurodegenerative disorders. In particular he has studied the anti-aging activities of several nutraceuticals present in the Mediterranean diet.

Pre-conference Seminar - Digestion & Absorption - Beyond Nutrition:  A journey into the gut microcosm

In recent years there has been a growing interest, supported by a large number of experimental and epidemiological studies outlining   the beneficial effects of some commonly used food derived products capable of preventing various age-related pathologic conditions, which range from cancer to neurodegenerative diseases.

Besides the importance of nutrients and active compounds contained in food, the workshop/seminar will focus on the relevance of the organs where digestion and absorption of nutrients occur. Because the food we consume creates the intestinal micro-environment   this in turn has a fundamental influence on the pathophysiology of many diseases.

The contents of the gut are an ‘inner’ world that is ‘outside’ the cellular body. Its surface is a frontier with an area 100 meters square and a thickness of one cell .Gut flora is an organ which contains more microbial cells than the cellular body has mammalian cells (100 trillion).In this context eukaryotes and prokaryotes have developed mutually beneficial relationships over a millennia of evolutionary adaptation. Similarly bacteria   in our gut relies   on our diet and the protected environment of our bodies just as our health depends on by- products of microbial metabolism. The normal intestinal microflora constitutes a huge chemical factory that alters our food and our gastrointestinal secretions. The benefit from their activity is multiplex and translates into

The gut is a sensory organ. The mechanism by which the gut senses and responds to nutrients involves the ‘interplay’ of multiple complex pathways.

The gut is a neuro -endocrine organ. Every neurotransmitter found in the brain is also found here. The gut has a brain of its own, an intact and independent nervous system.

The gut is the largest organ of immune function in the body; 70% of our lymphocytes live here. In addition to regulating digestion and absorption the pathways stimulated by molecules in the gut lumen mediate gastric motility, food intake and satiety.

Finally we will explore how foods can be designed to modulate digestion and to promote health by changing the physical properties of digesta.