# Cerebral Autoregulation, Brain Perfusion, and Neurocognitive Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury (CAPCOG-TBI)

> **NIH NIH R01** · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $1,146,429

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability in adults and the quality of life of TBI survivors is
highly dependent on the adequacy of cognitive recovery. TBI is also a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD)
and AD-related dementias (ADRD). Mounting evidence indicates that cerebrovascular dysfunction occurs in
both TBI and AD/ADRD and can be a cross-link between the two diseases. The 2019 ADRD Summit called for
further studies to understand vascular contributions to progressive cognitive impairment/dementia associated
with TBI and develop non-invasive diagnostic approaches5,9. The following important knowledge gaps exist:
1) What is the impact of early cerebrovascular dysfunction after TBI on short and long-term cognitive outcomes
after accounting for age, sex, and pre-existing health conditions? 2) What is the temporal relationship between
the cerebrovascular function recovery and cognitive outcome after TBI? and 3) Is there a relationship between
cerebrovascular dysfunction and post-TBI neurodegeneration? The overarching goal of this proposal is to
determine whether acute cerebrovascular dysfunction and its recovery within the first year postinjury are
associated with cognitive outcomes and neurodegeneration 12 months after moderate to severe TBI (msTBI).
Our central hypothesis is that cerebrovascular function measured by dynamic cerebral autoregulation (CA)
and brain perfusion during acute stage and its recovery during the first year are inversely associated with
cognitive outcomes and brain volume loss at 12 months postinjury. We propose a longitudinal study with 100
adults who sustained a single msTBI and 30 controls with non-TBI orthopedic trauma in the first week after the
initial injury. We will follow them at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after injury. The primary outcome will
be the NIH Toolbox Cognitive battery fluid composite score supplemented with sensitive episodic memory and
processing speed measures at 12 months postinjury. To address the overarching goal, we aim to 1) determine
the association of cerebrovascular dysfunction during the acute stage of msTBI (<1-week postinjury) with
cognitive outcome at 1 year. CA will be quantified by dynamic changes in arterial blood pressure and cerebral
blood flow velocity or brain tissue oxygenation. Brain perfusion will be determined by the sum of cerebral blood
flow measured from the bilateral internal carotid artery and vertebral artery. 2) To determine the temporal
association between the recovery of cerebrovascular function and cognitive outcomes after TBI. CA and brain
perfusion will be measured at 3, 6 and 12 months postinjury. 3) To determine the temporal associations of
acute cerebrovascular dysfunction and its recovery with the imaging biomarkers of neurodegeneration after
TBI over time. Multimodal MRI studies will be performed at 3 months and 12 months postinjury. The findings
from this study will improve our understanding of cerebrovascular ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10914890
- **Project number:** 5R01NS129934-02
- **Recipient organization:** UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** KAN DING
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,146,429
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10914890

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10914890, Cerebral Autoregulation, Brain Perfusion, and Neurocognitive Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury (CAPCOG-TBI) (5R01NS129934-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10914890. Licensed CC0.

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