When a patient is admitted to an intensive care unit, many of them leave with a dementia-like illness that mimics Alzheimer’s. It’s called ICU-Acquired Brain Injury and can last anywhere from a few days to years. A new study at Vanderbilt could help reverse the trend.

ICU-Acquired Brain injury can be so severe that patients have to quit their jobs because simple, daily tasks, like writing a check or walking the dog, become too difficult.

Dr. Wes Ely is part of a group at Vanderbilt University Medical Center studying the issue. He says short-term delirium is common in ICU patients, but that can develop into the long-term, more serious brain injury because of the side effects of sedation drugs.

“We do have well-intentioned docs and nurses that give these agents to our patients to try and save them from worry, fear and pain. It’s just that the overuse of the drug once you have achieved pain control seems to be where we can modify and improve things.”

Ely’s group just received a nine-million dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health for a clinical trial on ICU-delirium. Vanderbilt developed a tool to measure the condition, which can be permanent, ten years ago.