Hormones and metabolism in blood vessel–related memory loss after menopause
Official title: Metabolic and Hormonal Mechanisms of VCID
Funded at Albany Medical College · NIH-11194489 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Seeks to boost brain estrogen signaling to protect memory and blood vessels in post-menopausal people at risk for vascular contributions to dementia.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Albany Medical College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Albany, United States) |
| Project start | April 15, 2019 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $813,675 |
| NIH project number | 5R01NS110749-07 |
| Project ID | NIH-11194489 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be post-menopausal people (especially women) with or at high risk for Alzheimer disease dementia that includes vascular contributions to cognitive impairment.
✕Less likely to help
People who are pre-menopausal, whose dementia has no vascular contribution, or whose condition is driven primarily by nonvascular causes may be less likely to benefit from these specific hormone-targeted approaches.
What this research studies
This project uses menopausal and dementia models to study how losing estrogen and changes in metabolism worsen memory and brain blood vessel health. Researchers give a 17β-estradiol prodrug in mice and measure effects on cognition and blood-brain barrier or endothelial cell function. They also study human-derived brain endothelial cells and early hippocampal gene changes seen in Alzheimer disease to identify shared mechanisms. The team aims to find treatments that could work across mixed Alzheimer-plus-vascular dementia (MED).
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to treatments that protect brain blood vessels and improve memory in post-menopausal people with vascular-related dementia.
How similar studies have gone: Early animal work from this team showed an estradiol prodrug restored cognition after menopause and other studies link estrogen signaling to blood vessel protection, but translation to human treatments remains limited.
Where this research is happening
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Albany Medical College
Albany, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zuloaga, Kristen Leanne — Albany Medical College
- Study coordinator: Zuloaga, Kristen Leanne
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.