ADRD spousal caregivers: real-time loneliness and immune links
Official title: ADRD spousal caregivers, loneliness, & immune dysregulation: Real-Time, real-world intervention targets
Funded at Rice University · NIH-11457084 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A real-world study will follow 300 spouses caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias to understand how loneliness, social isolation, and daily stress relate to immune and cellular aging.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rice University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project start | May 10, 2023 |
| Project end | April 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $780,371 |
| NIH project number | 4R01AG075946-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11457084 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Spouses or partners of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias who are actively caregiving.
✕Less likely to help
Caregivers who do not experience loneliness or who do not participate in blood sampling may have limited direct personal benefit.
What this research studies
This study recruits 300 ADRD spousal caregivers and tracks how their feelings of loneliness and social isolation change in real time with daily life. Participants will report mood and burden, and provide blood samples at baseline and two follow-up visits to examine inflammatory markers and markers of cellular aging. By linking moment-to-moment experiences with biological data, the project aims to identify targets for interventions that could improve caregiver health and wellbeing in everyday settings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could lead to real-world strategies to reduce loneliness and improve immune health for caregivers, potentially lowering health risks.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary work suggests social isolation affects health, but this study adds real-time data and biological measures in ADRD caregivers.
Where this research is happening
-
Rice University
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fagundes, Christopher Paul — Rice University
- Study coordinator: Fagundes, Christopher Paul
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.