A new 4-year, $4.9 Million research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was awarded for a multi-site project led by Cleveland Clinic.
The project aims to develop reliable digital and imaging tools that can measure sudden changes in attention, alertness, and thinking—known as cognitive fluctuations (CF)—in people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).
Dr. Jagan Pillai
Principle Investigator and CADRC Director
Dr. Pillai and Cleveland Clinic, under the umbrella of research conducted by the Cleveland Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (CADRC), are teaming up with experts from VA Puget Sound, Seattle and the University of California San Diego to recruit nearly 100 participants between the ages of 50 to 90 and will be aided by data analysis expertise from University of Washington.
By developing better tools to detect and measure CF, this project aims to improve how AD and DLB are diagnosed, monitored, and treated. Our work is expected to lead to a better understanding of the underlying pathways of CF, which could lead to future therapies that more directly address the specific symptom. Addressing the unpredictability of CF would be tremendously important for patients and caregivers. By developing more reliable ways to capture CF in DLB and AD, we will also strengthen the ability of clinical trials to characterize the impact of medications on cognitive outcomes in these diseases.
This project will take place from September 1st, 2025, until July 31st, 2029. Patient participation is anticipated to begin later this year and continue until 2028.
