Gut bacteria and Lewy body dementia: how microbes may influence brain health
Official title: Commensal microbiota-mediated modulation of Lewy Body Dementia
Funded at Yale University · NIH-11449428 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A large NIH grant is testing how gut microbes affect Lewy body dementia and whether altering the gut microbiome could influence disease progression in a mouse model and potentially in people.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Yale University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New Haven, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $2,004,886 |
| NIH project number | 1RF1NS145417-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11449428 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with Lewy body dementia or prodromal synucleinopathy and individuals who could donate stool samples or participate in future microbiome-related studies.
✕Less likely to help
People without Lewy body dementia or related synucleinopathy are unlikely to directly benefit from this study.
What this research studies
Lewy body dementia involves brain changes linked to alpha-synuclein and currently has no approved treatments. This project studies whether gut bacteria can drive or worsen these brain changes by transferring human microbiomes into mice engineered to model the disease. Researchers will identify specific microbial communities and bacterial strains associated with worse pathology, and examine how these microbes may trigger inflammation in the gut and brain. The work combines advanced sequencing, microbiology, and in vivo testing to map connections between the gut and brain in Lewy body pathology.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the research could pave the way for microbiome-based strategies to slow or modify Lewy body dementia.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work suggests gut microbes can influence neurodegenerative processes, but this project tests specific microbial communities in a disease-relevant model, making outcomes promising but still early.
Where this research is happening
-
Yale University
New Haven, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Palm, Noah Wolcott — Yale University
- Study coordinator: Palm, Noah Wolcott
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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.