Rhode Island Hospital researcher launches study into postoperative brain health

A TEAM AT Rhode Island Hospital, led by neurology researcher Lori Daiello, plans to recruit more than 200 patients for a study on how older people’s brains react during recovery from major surgery. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL

PROVIDENCE – A study on post-surgery brain health and a possible link to illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease is now enrolling participants at Rhode Island Hospital.

Leaders of the Cognitive Recovery After Elective Surgery project are planning to recruit more than 200 patients, age 65 and older, who are scheduled for major non-cardiac surgeries.

Participants will undergo brain MRIs before and after surgery, donate blood and take memory and thinking tests during the 18 months following their procedure.

Lori Daiello, a senior research scientist at the Rhode Island Hospital Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Center, is leading the five-year project, which has received a $3.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

- Advertisement -

Researchers hope to learn more about how the brain is impacted after older people undergo major surgery, including whether some could be at an increased risk for Alzheimer’s.

The CREATES study will build on results of other studies that found lingering memory problems in older people who have undergone anesthesia. While little is known about the relationship between anesthesia and memory issues, recent research suggests that some types of post-surgery inflammation could affect brain health.

The CREATES study will make use of new MRI brain imaging technology to take a look at whether the “health of the blood-brain barrier is related to the rate of postoperative brain recovery,” according to a news release from Rhode Island Hospital.

“Normally, the BBB [blood-brain-barrier] protects brain cells from harmful substances circulating in the blood. A ‘leaky’ or damaged BBB could be an important risk factor for impaired brain recovery and memory issues by permitting high concentrations of circulating inflammatory factors to flood the brain during and after surgery,” said Daiello, who is also an associate professor of neurology (research) and of health services, policy and practice at Brown University.

Elizabeth Graham is a PBN contributing writer.

No posts to display