Decreased kidney function leads to declines in thinking and memory, a new Temple-led study suggests. Researchers looked at changes in kidney function and mental skills for five years in nearly 600 people. The greater the decrease in a person's kidney function during that time, the greater their decline in overall intellectual abilities. "The brain and the kidney are both organs that are…affected by things like blood pressure and hypertension, so it is natural to expect that changes in one organ are going to be linked with changes in another," said lead author Adam Davey of Temple's College of Health Professions and Social Work.