New NIH Grant: The Impact of Environmental factors on Lewy Body Dementia: Combining Claims Data and Mechanistic Stu — $1.8M at Unknown Institution
WHY IT MATTERS
If researchers identify specific environmental triggers for Lewy body dementia, patients and families may be able to reduce their risk through lifestyle changes or protective measures.
Scientists are studying how things in our environment—like air pollution or chemicals—might increase the risk of Lewy body dementia, a brain disease that affects over one million Americans. Lewy body dementia happens when harmful proteins called alpha-synuclein build up in the brain and damage it, causing memory loss and movement problems. This $1.8 million research project will look at medical records and do lab studies to understand these environmental connections better.
Project: The Impact of Environmental factors on Lewy Body Dementia: Combining Claims Data and Mechanistic Studies PI: ZANOBETTI, ANTONELLA Institution: Unknown Institution Funding: $1.8M Start Date: 2026-05-06 Abstract: Project Summary/Abstract Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting over one million Americans, second only to Alzheimer’s disease as a cause of neurodegenerative dementia. LBD is associated with abnormal deposits of α-synuclein (αSyn) in the brain. These deposits, called Lewy bodies, affect brain cell populations whose impairments, in turn, lead to problems with cognition, movement, and behavior. Older age and genetics are possible risk factors. Harmful environmental exposures may also increase the risk of LBD, yet their effects on LBD have generally been understudied.