# Neurodegenerative Changes in Post-Stroke Depression

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON · 2022 · $251,386

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Stroke is one of the leading causes of long-term mortality and disability, affecting nearly 800,000 people in the
United States each year. Nearly one-third of stroke victims report post-stroke depression (PSD) after a stroke
that significantly affects stroke recovery and is associated with an enormous disability burden and poor quality
of life. Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a common and severe complication of cerebrovascular stroke, affecting
about one-third of stroke survivors. PSD is associated with poor functional recovery from stroke-related disability,
mortality, and poor life quality. The diagnosis and treatment decisions are currently based on clinical evaluation;
treatments are not tailored to the brain injury. We hypothesize that identifying specific pathological changes in
PSD is the first step towards developing personalized treatments for PSD. Evidence suggests brain anatomical
changes (i.e, neurodegeneration - volume loss, microstructures, and disconnections) in prefrontal-limbic circuitry
remote from primary stroke lesion and may be causally related to PSD. The primary objectives of this pilot project
are to investigate the role of prefrontal-limbic anatomy using MRI and will evaluate synaptic density using a state-
of-the-art Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging-based synaptic marker. We propose anatomical
structural changes and synaptic density losses in prefrontal-limbic circuitry as a biological mechanism underlying
PSD. The findings from this study will provide preliminary evidence; (1) if neurodegeneration in the mood-related
prefrontal-limbic circuitry underlies depression symptoms, and (2) to develop brain circuit-based
neurodegeneration markers underlying neuropsychiatric symptoms in stroke.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10592933
- **Project number:** 1R21MH129888-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Rodrigo Machado Vieira
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $251,386
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-20 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10592933

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10592933, Neurodegenerative Changes in Post-Stroke Depression (1R21MH129888-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10592933. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*