Postoperative recovery: how pain, delirium, and brain inflammation are linked
Official title: Mechanisms involved in postoperative recovery: a focus on pain, delirium, and neuroinflammation
Funded at University of Texas Dallas · NIH-11377422 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study exploring how immune cells in the body and brain influence recovery after surgery, especially pain and delirium, to help patients recover faster.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas Dallas NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Richardson, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $389,966 |
| NIH project number | 5R35GM147094-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11377422 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults undergoing surgery who may experience postoperative pain and delirium, with attention to age and sex differences.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without postoperative pain or delirium may have limited direct benefit in the short term.
What this research studies
This project looks at how age and sex affect brain and immune system interactions after surgery. It uses human and animal models to understand how monocytes and microglia contribute to pain and cognitive changes during recovery. The goal is to uncover neuroimmune pathways that shape individual recovery experiences and identify potential targets to improve outcomes for patients after surgery.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could lead to new strategies to reduce pain and delirium after surgery and speed up recovery for patients.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier work suggests immune signaling influences pain and cognitive changes after inflammatory challenges, indicating a promising direction for this research.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Texas Dallas
Richardson, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Burton, Michael D — University of Texas Dallas
- Study coordinator: Burton, Michael D
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Understanding Recovery After Surgery: Pain, Confusion, and Brain Inflammation
This project aims to understand why people recover differently after surgery, especially focusing on how pain and confusion happen.
-
Understanding how the body recovers after surgery, focusing on pain and confusion.
This study is exploring how our immune system affects how well people recover after surgery, especially regarding pain and confusion, and it's looking at how things like age and gender play a role, all to help make recovery easier for patients.
-
READI-SET-GO: Improving Delirium Screening for Hospitalized Older Adults
A hospital-based program tests how well routine nurse delirium screening using UB-CAM works when integrated into the electronic health record to improve outcomes for older patients.
-
Continuous wearable monitor with AI to prevent agitation and delirium in hospitalized older adults
A wearable sensor and AI system will continuously track agitation in older hospital patients to help prevent delirium and protect brain health.
-
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.
-
Why dementia and sudden confusion (delirium) often happen together
This project looks at brain electrical signals and chemical changes to find why people with dementia sometimes develop sudden confusion called delirium.
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.