Júlio César Rocha

Professor Professor Auxiliar

Researcher | Nutritionist

Júlio César Rocha is Assistant Professor at NOVA Medical School teaching in the field of Nutrition and Metabolism. He is a Nutritionist, with a post graduate qualification in Clinical Nutrition from the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences – University of Porto (UP) and specialist in Clinical Nutrition by the Order of Nutritionists (0438N). He completed a PhD in Metabolism, Clinical and Experimental at the Faculty of Medicine, UP in 2013. He has been working in the field of inborn metabolic diseases since 2003. He is also member of the clinical team at the Reference Centre of Inherited Metabolic Diseases at Unidade Local de Saúde de São José and team member of the Nutrition Laboratory at Hospital Dona Estefânia. He is a researcher at Comprehensive Health Research Centre (CHRC) and Centre for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS). He was council member of the SSIEM (Society for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism) and Chair of the Dieticians Group of the SSIEM (SSIEM-DG) between 2019 and 2024. He was also member of the clinical nutrition specialty council of the Order of Nutritionists, between 2022 and 2026. Currently, he is President of the Portuguese Society of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism and member of Associação Portuguesa de Nutrição (APN), Sociedade Portuguesa de Pediatria (SPP), Sociedade Portuguesa de Doenças Metabólicas (SPDM), Society for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism (SSIEM), Genetics Metabolic Dietitians International (GMDI) and European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN). He is also member of the working group of the European Phenylketonuria Guidelines under the umbrella of the European Society of PKU (E.S.PKU).

Publications

Rocha JC, Daly A, MacDonald A. From Control to Optimisation: Evolving Strategies in the Nutritional Management of Inborn Errors of Protein Metabolism. J Inherit Metab Dis. 2026 Jan;49(1):e70123. doi: 10.1002/jimd.70123. PMID: 41366633; PMCID: PMC12690016.
van Wegberg AMJ, MacDonald A, Ahring K, Bélanger-Quintana A, Beblo S, Blau N, Bosch AM, Burlina A, Campistol J, Coşkun T, Feillet F, Giżewska M, Huijbregts SC, Leuzzi V, Maillot F, Muntau AC, Rocha JC, Romani C, Trefz F, van Spronsen FJ. European guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of phenylketonuria: First revision. Mol Genet Metab. 2025 Jun;145(2):109125. doi: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2025.109125. Epub 2025 Apr 30. PMID: 40378670.
Rodrigues C, Sousa Barbosa C, de Almeida MF, Bandeira A, Martins E, Rocha S, Guimas A, Ribeiro R, Soares A, Moreira-Rosário A, Dias CC, MacDonald A, Borges N, Rocha JC. Protein intake and prevalence of overweight in patients with phenylketonuria: A 10-year longitudinal study. Mol Genet Metab. 2025 Apr;144(4):109068. doi: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2025.109068. Epub 2025 Feb 23. PMID: 40037212.
Peres M, Moreira-Rosário A, Padeira G, Gaspar Silva P, Correia C, Nunes A, Garcia E, Faria A, Teixeira D, Calhau C, Pereira-da-Silva L, Ferreira AC, Rocha JC. Biochemical and Anthropometric Outcomes in Paediatric Patients with Heterozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia after COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdowns: An Exploratory Analysis. Nutrients. 2024 Jul 8;16(13):2170. doi: 10.3390/nu16132170. PMID: 38999917; PMCID: PMC11242984.
Rocha JC, Hermida Á, Jones CJ, Wu Y, Clague GE, Rose S, Whitehall KB, Ahring KK, Pessoa ALS, Harding CO, Rohr F, Inwood A, Longo N, Muntau AC, Sivri S, Maillot F. Meta-analysis of bone mineral density in adults with phenylketonuria. Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2024 Sep 12;19(1):338. doi: 10.1186/s13023-024-03223-9. PMID: 39267130; PMCID: PMC11391789.
Luengo-Pérez LM, Fernández-Bueso M, Ambrojo A, Guijarro M, Ferreira AC, Pereira-da-Silva L, Moreira-Rosário A, Faria A, Calhau C, Daly A, MacDonald A, Rocha JC. Body Composition Evaluation and Clinical Markers of Cardiometabolic Risk in Patients with Phenylketonuria. Nutrients. 2023 Dec 18;15(24):5133. doi: 10.3390/nu15245133. PMID: 38140392; PMCID: PMC10745907.
Gomes M, Almeida MF, Barbosa CS, Gama MI, Peres M, Pinto É, MacDonald A, Rocha JC. Total Protein Intake in Patients with PKU: Adequacy Evaluation According to the European PKU Guidelines from 2017. Nutrients. 2023 Nov 22;15(23):4883. doi: 10.3390/nu15234883. PMID: 38068741; PMCID: PMC10707753.
Rodrigues C, Pinto A, Faria A, Teixeira D, van Wegberg AMJ, Ahring K, Feillet F, Calhau C, MacDonald A, Moreira-Rosário A, Rocha JC. Is the Phenylalanine-Restricted Diet a Risk Factor for Overweight or Obesity in Patients with Phenylketonuria (PKU)? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2021 Sep 28;13(10):3443. doi: 10.3390/nu13103443. PMID: 34684443; PMCID: PMC8538431.
Rocha JC, Bausell H, Bélanger-Quintana A, Bernstein L, Gökmen-Özel H, Jung A, MacDonald A, Rohr F, van Dam E, Heddrich-Ellerbrok M. Development of a practical dietitian road map for the nutritional management of phenylketonuria (PKU) patients on pegvaliase. Mol Genet Metab Rep. 2021 May 25;28:100771. doi: 10.1016/j.ymgmr.2021.100771. PMID: 34094869; PMCID: PMC8167196.
Pena MJ, Pinto A, de Almeida MF, de Sousa Barbosa C, Ramos PC, Rocha S, Guimas A, Ribeiro R, Martins E, Bandeira A, Dias CC, MacDonald A, Borges N, Rocha JC. Continuous use of glycomacropeptide in the nutritional management of patients with phenylketonuria: a clinical perspective. Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2021 Feb 13;16(1):84. doi: 10.1186/s13023-021-01721-8. PMID: 33581730; PMCID: PMC7881530.