Understanding blood vessel changes in Alzheimer’s
Elucidating the Role of Endothelial Dysfunction in Alzheimer Disease: Towards A New Data-Driven Disease Model
This project looks for proteins and RNA signs of blood-vessel damage in people with Alzheimer’s to see how those changes relate to memory and brain scans.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Saint Louis University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Saint Louis, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11328208 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will measure specific proteins in cerebrospinal fluid and RNA in brain tissue using proteomics and transcriptomics across three large long-term groups (over 3,400 people) including late-onset Alzheimer’s, healthy volunteers, and other dementias. They will compare these endothelial biomarkers to years of cognitive tests and MRI scans to see whether blood-vessel changes appear early in the disease. The team will build a data-driven model to map how endothelial dysfunction may fit into Alzheimer’s progression. Much of the work uses stored samples and long-term clinical data to link these markers to real-world memory and scan outcomes.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people enrolled in the participating long-term cohorts, including those with late-onset sporadic Alzheimer’s, healthy controls, or non-Alzheimer dementias who can provide clinical data and biological samples.
Not a fit: People without relevant clinical enrollment or who cannot provide CSF or include brain tissue samples may not see direct benefit from this specific project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help detect Alzheimer’s earlier and point to new ways to protect the brain’s blood vessels to slow disease.
How similar studies have performed: Using CSF proteomics and brain transcriptomics to study vascular changes in Alzheimer’s is relatively new and preliminary data are promising, but this is one of the first large longitudinal efforts focused on endothelial markers.
Where this research is happening
Saint Louis, United States
- Saint Louis University — Saint Louis, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Tarawneh, Rawan — Saint Louis University
- Study coordinator: Tarawneh, Rawan
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 below.