KINGSTON, R.I. — May 20, 2025 — Why does stroke increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias? A University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy researcher is investigating the link between stroke and dementias in a study funded by a $413,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health. Assistant Professor Claudia Fallini hopes her research will lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to Alzheimer’s disease, as well as to improved stroke outcomes.

Ischemic stroke, caused by lack of blood supply to the brain, kills and damages brain cells, often triggering harmful neuroinflammation or other pathological changes that have been associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. However, it remains unclear how and why stroke triggers these changes, and exactly how such changes increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia.

“There is a knowledge gap around which cellular pathways cause or contribute to dementia after a stroke,” says Fallini, who has a joint appointment to the George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience. “It is important to bridge this gap in order to understand how stroke affects your risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease and find potential ways to mitigate that risk.”

One potential pathway of interest includes the actin cytoskeleton, which plays a critical role in various cellular functions and has long been a focus of Fallini’s research. “Ischemic stroke has been shown to induce drastic changes in the actin cytoskeleton,” says Fallini, who also holds an appointment in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences. “One of our questions is to look at how some of the changes we see in this pathway after a stroke could make surviving brain cells more vulnerable to age-related stressors or other factors linked to Alzheimer’s disease.”

Fallini hopes the project will be a step toward developing potential new therapies.

“We hope that our work will provide new pieces of the puzzle toward a better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that lead to cognitive decline and dementia,” Fallini said. “If we can identify what’s happening in the brain after a stroke that causes or contributes to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, we have a better chance to intervene.”