# Dementia with Lewy Bodies Consortium

> **NIH NIH U01** · CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU · 2020 · $1,071,740

## Abstract

Project Summary
 It has been estimated that 1.4 million people in the United States suffer from Lewy body dementia (LBD),
including both dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) or Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD). Patients with
LBD suffer from cognitive decline, sometimes linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD), and the motor and
behavioral changes seen in Parkinson's disease (PD). Unfortunately, the diagnosis of LBD can be difficult,
particularly in those DLB patients that present with cognitive impairment prior to motor or marked behavioral
changes. Biomarkers for LBD are few and their value in diagnosis, prognosis, and for treatment response is
limited.
 Impediments to biomarker development in LBD have included small subject numbers, a lack of systematic
patient characterization, and a failure to perform longitudinal follow up with autopsy. Both AD and PD have
benefited from a number of large “consortiums” that have advanced research by leveraging the strengths of
several groups of research centers to combine efforts with standardized approaches to the study of the
disease. One good example is the Alzheimer's Disease Centers (ADC) program, funded by the National
Institute on Aging, where over 30 research centers across the United States have agreed to a standardized
approach to the diagnosis and characterization of patients with AD. Other similar programs include the
Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS), Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), the
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Parkinson's Disease Biomarker Program
(PDBP), and the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI). Fortunately, the latter two PD programs
have included more systematic clinical assessments and collection of biofluids and imaging data relevant to
cognition in PD. Recently, a pathology component has been added to the PPMI project. No similar program
exists for DLB.
 The objective of this proposal is to establish a consortium of centers for the study of DLB with a large
number of subject enrolled, systematic assessments (compatible with AD and PD programs), collection of
biofluids and imaging data, and ultimately autopsy. The DLB consortium (DLBC) would create the necessary
foundation for biomarker development and have the secondary benefit of creating an ongoing subject
sample available for additional translational and therapeutic studies. We have brought together nine centers
with expertise in the Lewy body disorders and with strong connections to the Lewy body dementia research
and general community to participate in the DLBC. This group of investigators has collaborated extensively
together for many years and will provide the foundation for this much needed resource.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10022167
- **Project number:** 5U01NS100610-05
- **Recipient organization:** CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU
- **Principal Investigator:** JAMES Bruce LEVERENZ
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,071,740
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-30 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10022167

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10022167, Dementia with Lewy Bodies Consortium (5U01NS100610-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10022167. Licensed CC0.

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