Military toxic exposures and their effects on brain health and thinking
Official title: Metabolic and Neurocognitive Impacts of Military-Associated Toxicant Exposures
Funded at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center · NIH-11213936 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looking at whether past military-related arsenic exposures are linked to low brain DHA and to mood, anxiety, or memory problems in veterans, and whether raising DHA could help protect the brain.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Jesse Brown VA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | October 1, 2023 |
| Project end | September 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01BX006108-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11213936 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are veterans with a history of service-related toxicant or arsenic exposure who have concerns about mood, anxiety, PTSD, or memory and who can provide health history and biosamples.
✕Less likely to help
People without a history of arsenic or military toxicant exposure or whose symptoms have a clearly unrelated cause may not benefit from this work.
What this research studies
This project focuses on veterans with service-related arsenic and other toxicant exposures and on how those exposures affect brain fats and mental functioning. Researchers will measure DHA and related brain metabolites alongside questionnaires and cognitive tests to connect exposure history with symptoms. Lab-based work using cells and animal models will explore how arsenic reduces brain DHA and harms brain circuits involved in mood and memory. The team will also test approaches to raise brain DHA that could inform future treatments or supplements.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could point to ways (for example, boosting brain DHA) to reduce anxiety, depression, PTSD symptoms, or cognitive problems in veterans exposed to arsenic.
How similar studies have gone: Prior animal and observational human studies link arsenic to neurocognitive problems and suggest DHA is protective, but direct clinical intervention work in exposed veterans is limited and partly novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Jesse Brown VA Medical Center
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sargis, Robert M — Jesse Brown VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Sargis, Robert M
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.