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R01AG080587

Project Grant

Overview

Grant Description
Hearing Biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease - Summary

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease with progressive memory loss and cognitive decline. Early detection is critical for prevention and treatment of AD and AD related dementia (ADRD). It has been estimated that delay of the onset of dementia by even one year would reduce the prevalence of dementia by 10%.

Recently, increasing evidence demonstrates that AD pathological changes can occur in sensory associated brain areas 5-10 years early before typical AD symptoms present, suggesting that they could serve as early biomarkers for AD/ADRD detection and diagnosis.

Hearing is an important neural sense. Hearing loss also is a major high-risk factor for dementia. Recent studies demonstrated that visual and auditory stimulations with gamma oscillation cycles could reduce amyloid- (A expression in the brain and improve memory in AD mice. We hypothesize that hearing has a critical role in AD development and progression. However, hearing is an understudied field in AD study. Little is known about AD-induced hearing changes.

Previous epidemiological studies demonstrated that AD patients could have hearing loss. However, since aged persons usually have age-related hearing loss (ARHL), it was hard to distinguish AD-induced hearing decline from ARHL in those epidemiological studies. The link to AD pathology also could not be determined and remained unclear.

In this project, we will use AD mouse models to identify and characterize AD-induced functional and pathological changes in the auditory system (Aim 1). Both familial AD (FAD) and sporadic AD (SAD) mouse models will be used to increase experimental rigor. AD-induced functional changes in the auditory system will be longitudinally examined and assessed during AD development and progression. These changes will be linked to A and tau protein expressions and genomic changes in the auditory system, which will be assessed by RNA sequencing. The AD hearing marker, thus, can be unambiguously determined.

In Aim 2, we will use both AD and ARHL mouse models to further distinguish AD-induced hearing decline from ARHL. We will also define the impact of hearing loss on AD/ADRD development and progression and test whether ARHL can accelerate/exacerbate AD/ADRD development and progression.

These proposed studies can improve our understanding AD pathology and the role of hearing in AD/ADRD development and progression. Such information is also critical and required for understanding the underlying mechanism for the therapeutic effect of acoustic stimulation against AD and further improving treatment and prevention.
Awardee
Funding Goals
NOT APPLICABLE
Grant Program (CFDA)
Place of Performance
New Haven, Connecticut 065103218 United States
Geographic Scope
Single Zip Code
Analysis Notes
Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 280% from $818,308 to $3,107,120.
Yale Univ was awarded Alzheimer's Disease Hearing Biomarkers Study Project Grant R01AG080587 worth $3,107,120 from National Institute on Aging in August 2023 with work to be completed primarily in New Haven Connecticut United States. The grant has a duration of 4 years 10 months and was awarded through assistance program 93.866 Aging Research. The Project Grant was awarded through grant opportunity Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R01 Clinical Trial Optional).

Status
(Ongoing)

Last Modified 6/22/26

Period of Performance
8/15/23
Start Date
6/30/28
End Date
59.0% Complete

Funding Split
$3.1M
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$3.1M
Total Obligated
100.0% Federal Funding
0.0% Non-Federal Funding

Activity Timeline

Interactive chart of timeline of amendments to R01AG080587

Transaction History

Modifications to R01AG080587

Additional Detail

Award ID FAIN
R01AG080587
SAI Number
R01AG080587-2816234858
Award ID URI
SAI UNAVAILABLE
Awardee Classifications
Private Institution Of Higher Education
Awarding Office
75NN00 NIH National Insitute on Aging
Funding Office
75NN00 NIH National Insitute on Aging
Awardee UEI
FL6GV84CKN57
Awardee CAGE
4B992
Performance District
CT-03
Senators
Richard Blumenthal
Christopher Murphy

Budget Funding

Federal Account Budget Subfunction Object Class Total Percentage
National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Health and Human Services (075-0843) Health research and training Grants, subsidies, and contributions (41.0) $818,308 100%
Modified: 6/22/26