Improving medication plans after hospital delirium for people with Alzheimer's and related dementias
Official title: A targeted analytical framework to optimize posthospitalization delirium pharmacotherapy in patients with Alzheimers disease and related dementias
Funded at Brigham and Women's Hospital · NIH-11320818 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will build data-driven tools to help clinicians safely stop or tailor antipsychotic medicines after a hospital episode of delirium in people with Alzheimer's and related dementias.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brigham and Women's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2023 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $850,183 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG081412-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11320818 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias who were given antipsychotic medication during a recent hospitalization for delirium, particularly those discharged on these drugs.
✕Less likely to help
People without dementia, those who were never treated with antipsychotics for delirium, or patients who medically require ongoing antipsychotic therapy are unlikely to benefit from the findings.
What this research studies
If you or a loved one with Alzheimer's disease experiences delirium in the hospital, this work aims to use hospital and pharmacy records to learn who can safely stop antipsychotic medicines and when. Because running randomized trials during acute delirium is very difficult, the team will apply advanced statistical and analytical methods to large real-world patient data to reduce bias. They will look for patient features, timing, and outcomes linked to continuing versus stopping these medicines after discharge. The goal is to produce clear, patient-focused guidance to reduce harmful long-term antipsychotic use.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reduce unnecessary long-term antipsychotic use and lower the risk of dangerous side effects for people with dementia after a hospital delirium.
How similar studies have gone: Randomized trials on stopping antipsychotics after delirium are essentially absent and prior observational studies are limited, so this analytical approach is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lin, Joshua K — Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Lin, Joshua K
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Low brain changes from anesthesia may signal early Alzheimer's risk
A study at Stanford will look at whether brain responses to anesthesia during surgery reveal early brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease and delirium risk in people aged 65 and up.
-
Brain circuits behind confusion after surgery in early Alzheimer's
This project looks at whether activating two tiny brain centers can prevent or shorten sudden confusion after anesthesia in people with early Alzheimer's.
-
Delirium after surgery and its link to Alzheimer's and related dementias
This project looks at why older adults and people with or at risk for Alzheimer's can get delirium after surgery and how that might increase later dementia risk.
-
How genes and inflammation may raise risk for delirium and Alzheimer's in older adults
This project looks at whether older adults with higher genetic risk for Alzheimer's plus inflammation from events like surgery or infection are more likely to get delirium, faster memory decline, or dementia.
-
Arginine changes in people who develop delirium and thinking problems after surgery
This project looks at whether changes in arginine-related chemicals in spinal fluid are linked to delirium and later thinking problems in older adults having surgery.
-
Investigating brain responses to anesthetics in older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease
This study is looking at how brain activity changes when older adults are given anesthesia, to see if it can help spot early signs of Alzheimer's disease and identify those who might be at risk for confusion after surgery.
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.