Disrupted circadian rhythms may accelerate dementia-related brain inflammation

Alzheimer's disease and other dementias impact approximately 55 million people worldwide, including 7.2 million cases in the United States alone. With 10 million new cases globally each year, the worldwide number is expected to rise to 78 million by 2030 and 139 million in 2050.

In response these alarming trends, Texas A&M Health and the Division of Research created the Dementia & Alzheimer's Research Initiative (DARI) to prevent, more quickly detect and more effectively treat dementia. DARI recently awarded $1.325 million in seedling grants to support 11 research projects at Texas A&M University aimed at Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

Karienn Souza, research assistant professor at the Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine, is one of the inaugural 2026 seedling grant awardees.

Last year, in collaboration with David Earnest, Souza published a study examining how circadian rhythm dysregulation during shift work may accelerate cognitive aging. To study this, her team developed an animal model to better understand what happens chronically to the brain's immune system when sleep-wake cycles become out of sync.