Cognitive impairment in patients with end-stage renal disease: Accelerated brain aging?

Chronic kidney disease exhibits a prominent premature aging phenotype in many different organ systems, including the brain. Nevertheless, a comprehensive characterization of brain aging in non-demented patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is lacking and it remains unclear if the collective changes of cognitive functions and brain structures in ESRD is compatible with aging. We compared 56 non-demented, independently living dialysis patients (mean age 59.4 ± 11.0 years; mean dialysis vintage of 5.9 years) and 60 non-dialysis controls on a battery of neuropsychological tests, brain MRI T1 imaging and diffusion tensor imaging. Participants with diagnosis of dementia, Mini-Mental State Examination