# Characterizing autonomic impairments in Frontotemporal Dementia

> **NIH NIH R21** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2024 · $208,750

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Socioemotional impairments are core features of behavioral variant of Frontotemporal Dementia (bvFTD) and
account for the majority of disease related morbidity. bvFTD patients also demonstrate autonomic impairments
and these likely account for several socioemotional deficits in this condition. However, efforts to characterize
autonomic dysfunction in bvFTD patients remain sparse, and the reliability of such measures remains
undetermined. The characterization of autonomic dysfunction in bvFTD would be greatly advanced by novel
technologies that measure autonomic function more consistently and in patients’ home environments. Such
technologies include wearable garments and smartwatches capable of serially recording heart-rate variability,
electrodermal activity, pupil reactivity and others. This proposal will first assess the test-retest reliability of
“gold-standard” measurements of autonomic function in 30 bvFTD patients and in 30 matched controls in a
controlled laboratory setting. This will establish that bvFTD patients have detectable and stable autonomic
impairments when compared to controls. It will then assess the test-retest reliability of ambulatory wearable
technologies in the same laboratory environment in both groups and will correlate gold-standard and
ambulatory metrics to establish the validity of the ambulatory measures. Next, it will assess the feasibility of
using ambulatory autonomic assessments in both subject groups at home. Finally, it will correlate gold-
standard and ambulatory autonomic measurements to validated ratings of socioemotional function. This work
will germinate studies establishing autonomic metrics as predictive biomarkers of socioemotional dysfunction in
bvFTD. It will also vastly advance our understanding of the neurobiological basis of autonomic dysfunction and
socioemotional impairment in bvFTD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10951093
- **Project number:** 1R21AG088872-01
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Mark Christian Eldaief
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $208,750
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10951093

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10951093, Characterizing autonomic impairments in Frontotemporal Dementia (1R21AG088872-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10951093. Licensed CC0.

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