Clarifying the Relationship between Delirium and Alzheimers Disease and Related Dementias (R01) | PAR 17 038

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 17 038

This NIH grant opportunity, "Clarifying the Relationship between Delirium and Alzheimers Disease and Related Dementias (R01)" (PAR-17-038), supports health research that digs into the two-way connection between delirium and Alzheimers disease and related dementias (ADRD). The central goal is to move beyond simple association and work out the biological and clinical reasons these conditions so often intersect. On one side of the problem, the FOA highlights that people who already have ADRD are more likely to develop delirium and frequently have worse outcomes than people who develop delirium without pre-existing dementia. On the other side, it emphasizes evidence that delirium itself can be a warning sign or contributing factor for later cognitive problems, with patients who experience delirium showing higher risk of subsequent mild cognitive impairment or ADRD and, in many cases, a faster trajectory of cognitive decline than patients without a delirium episode.

The research emphasis is broadly mechanistic and translational, meaning applications can range from foundational biology to clinically grounded studies, as long as they clarify why these links exist and how they can be acted on. The FOA is explicitly interested in work that identifies shared or interacting pathways that might underlie both disorders, including pathways that are common to both, occur in sequence, are causative or contributory, or act synergistically to worsen brain vulnerability. It also encourages studies that explain how delirium develops in the context of aging and neurodegeneration, with a particular callout for using appropriate animal models when they can illuminate mechanisms that are difficult to isolate in humans. In practice, that could include modeling neuroinflammation, synaptic dysfunction, blood-brain barrier changes, neurotransmitter disruptions, metabolic stress responses, or other processes that might make an aging or degenerating brain more prone to acute confusion and attention disturbance.

A major theme is risk and prediction in both directions: identifying risk factors for delirium onset and progression among people with ADRD, and identifying risk factors for later cognitive impairment or dementia among people who have had delirium. This includes clinical, biological, environmental, and care-related factors that could help explain who is most vulnerable and why. The FOA also supports efforts to improve diagnosis and assessment when one condition occurs in the presence of the other, recognizing that delirium can be hard to detect in someone with baseline cognitive impairment, and that underlying ADRD can be missed or mischaracterized during or after an acute delirium episode. Related to that, it encourages work to define meaningful phenotypes (subtypes) of patients who experience both delirium and ADRD, which could support more precise prognosis and more targeted prevention or treatment strategies.

Intervention development and testing are also within scope. Applicants may propose pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches to prevent delirium, treat it, or reduce its impact among patients with ADRD, as well as strategies aimed at reducing downstream cognitive harm after delirium and potentially influencing longer-term dementia-related outcomes. The overarching expectation is that supported projects will produce mechanistic insight that can be translated into better risk assessment, better diagnostic tools and clinical assessment methods, clearer patient stratification or phenotyping, and improved prevention and management for both delirium and ADRD in real-world settings.

Administratively, this is an NIH discretionary grant using the R01 mechanism, listed under CFDA 93.866. The eligible applicant pool is broad and includes many types of U.S. organizations such as state, county, and local governments; public and private institutions of higher education; independent school districts; special district governments; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) and tribal organizations (other than federally recognized governments); public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses; and other entities. The FOA also explicitly notes additional eligible groups such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, eligible federal agencies, and non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). The opportunity was created on 2016-10-27, and the original closing date listed is 2018-01-24, reflecting the initial submission deadline information provided in the notice.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Clarifying the Relationship between Delirium and Alzheimers Disease and Related Dementias (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-10-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for PAR 17 038

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