UTHealth Houston researchers have received a five-year, $2.8 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to investigate why some older adults experience memory problems, confusion and other cognitive complications following anesthesia and surgery.

The research team will enroll 400 patients and collect blood samples and rectal swabs before and after surgery. Researchers will examine potential links among changes in gut microbiota, tau proteins and metabolites associated with perioperative neurocognitive disorders. Patients’ cognitive function and delirium will be assessed before surgery, immediately afterward, at 21 days and again at six months.

Perioperative neurocognitive disorders, including postoperative delirium and delayed cognitive recovery, are associated with greater morbidity, mortality, and care costs, as well as an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Researchers hope the study will identify biomarkers that allow clinicians to recognize high-risk patients before surgery and develop targeted prevention and treatment strategies.

For perioperative teams, the findings could eventually support more individualized preoperative screening, anesthesia planning, and postoperative monitoring for older surgical patients. The study also reflects a broader shift toward treating cognitive outcomes as an important measure of surgical quality and recovery.