# Personalized OSA treatment and effects on AD biomarkers and cognition among blacks

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2023 · $763,412

## Abstract

Project Summary
Evidence shows increased tau and amyloid-β burden among patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Impairment in memory, executive function, attention, and vigilance is also common among those patients.
Fortunately, OSA treatment can normalize these biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and improve
cognitive function. Treatment can also reduce systemic inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity, blood
pressure, and serum lipids and lipoproteins. Notwithstanding such compelling data, little is known about the
impact of OSA treatment among blacks, a group shouldering a disproportionate burden of OSA and AD.
Failure to benefit from these medical advances is due in part to a dearth of data explaining poor access to
adequate OSA care, limiting our ability to implement health policies guiding aggressive OSA control among
blacks. We propose an RCT to assess the effectiveness of our innovative Personalized OSA Treatment
Adherence Model in enhancing adherence to OSA treatment among blacks. We will implement an effective
and scalable intervention to ascertain effects of OSA treatment on AD biomarkers and cognitive function as
well as patient-centered outcomes. First, we will leverage a stakeholder-endorsed, web-based sleep
education platform (TASHE) we developed, featuring journeys of black patients with OSA. Second, we will
use a personalized approach for delivering video messages (OSA content & coaching advice) to increase
OSA treatment self-efficacy. Messages will be personalized based on patients’ idiographic profile to nudge
and navigate them in their preferred OSA care pathway. Profiles will integrate patients’ baseline data (e.g.,
demographic, medical, health literacy, motivation, readiness to change) and the emergent barriers gleaned
from responses to ecological momentary assessment. Coaching messages about strategies to overcome
system-level barriers, impeding successful navigation of the OSA care pathway will be delivered using
Motivational Enhancement. Newly diagnosed blacks (n=330, 60-85 years) will be randomly exposed to
either the personalized or standard OSA messages (e.g., AASM & NSF). We will capture adherence data
via telemetry, enabling real-time application of data-driven decision rules to optimize message delivery. We
will ascertain biomarker and cognitive outcomes at baseline and at 6 months post-enrollment. The study
team will: 1) assess the comparative effectiveness of the personalized, web-based intervention in increasing
adherence to OSA treatment with Positive Airway Pressure among newly diagnosed blacks; 2) determine
whether OSA treatment improves a) molecular AD biomarkers (Hcy, NFL, GFAP, Tau and Aβ) and b)
cognitive function (attention, language, memory, and executive function); and 3) determine whether OSA
treatment improves patients’ health-related quality of life, daytime functioning, and sleep quality. We expect
the Personalized OSA Treatment Adherence Model (PRAISE) will have a significant impact on ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10687265
- **Project number:** 5R01AG075007-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Girardin Jean-Louis
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $763,412
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10687265

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10687265, Personalized OSA treatment and effects on AD biomarkers and cognition among blacks (5R01AG075007-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10687265. Licensed CC0.

---

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