Cataract surgery and its effects on thinking, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia
Official title: Using Informatics to Evaluate and Predict Cataract Surgery Impact on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias and Mild Cognitive Impairment Outcomes
Funded at Stanford University · NIH-11115571 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether cataract surgery helps people with or at risk for Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment keep their thinking skills longer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2022 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $724,966 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG072582-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11115571 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with cataracts who have mild cognitive impairment or are at higher risk for Alzheimer's disease and are considering cataract surgery.
✕Less likely to help
People without cataracts, those whose vision loss is caused by other eye conditions, and individuals with very advanced dementia who cannot safely undergo surgery are unlikely to benefit from this research.
What this research studies
I want to know if fixing cataracts can slow memory loss or lower the chance of Alzheimer's. Researchers at Stanford will use medical records and computerized models to compare people who had cataract surgery with those who did not and to predict individual outcomes after surgery. They will identify other health, social, or clinical factors that change the effect of surgery and build algorithms to forecast future thinking and dementia risk. The goal is to help guide who might gain cognitive benefit from cataract surgery and the best timing for it.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help patients and doctors decide whether and when cataract surgery might slow cognitive decline or reduce dementia risk.
How similar studies have gone: Observational studies have linked better vision and cataract surgery to improved cognition, but randomized trials and definitive causal evidence are limited.
Where this research is happening
-
Stanford University
Stanford, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pershing, Suzann — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Pershing, Suzann
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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.