Oslo Delirium Research Group

About us

The research group is engaged in several ongoing and comprehensive studies focusing on various aspects of delirium in the elderly.

Most members are affiliated with Akershus University Hospital (Ahus) or Oslo University Hospital (OUS), and we collaborate closely with several other hospitals both in Norway and internationally.

We study the pathophysiology of delirium through the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients with hip fractures and from healthy controls, with a particular focus on the pathophysiological relationship between delirium and dementia.

We have conducted both pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention studies, such as music therapy for patients with delirium, and are currently conducting a national multicenter study on the effect of drugs to prevent delirium and cognitive difficulties after heart surgery in cooperation with OUS. Read more about the study.  

We have studied the epidemiology and prognosis of delirium in hip fracture patients and in the elderly living at home.

We are working on an extensive epidemiological study of delirium from a population perspective, using data from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study and the participants' hospital records. In this research, we will also examine the connections between delirium, frailty, and dementia.

Long-term goals

Through ambitious and innovative research designs, effective utilization of patient materials we have collected, established routines for handling delirious patients in research contexts, and an international network, we have positioned ourselves as a leading European center for research on delirium in elderly patients.

In the coming years, we will particularly prioritize treatment research, epidemiology, and research on pathophysiological mechanisms.

Our biobank of cerebrospinal fluid samples from hip fracture patients, who are well clinically documented concerning delirium, represents a unique collection of biological materials at an international level. Therefore, we will prioritize research on this to illuminate pathophysiological hypotheses in collaboration with basic researchers.
We are currently including patients at several hospitals in Norway, and our biobank is continuously growing.

The ALPHA2PREVENT study is ongoing until 2026 and will be among the largest drug studies in the field of delirium. In addition to the main study, extensive data collection provides a foundation for several planned sub-studies on biomarkers, physiological parameters, frailty, and cognitive function over time.

In ongoing epidemiological studies with nearly 10,000 participants, we are collecting data that allows us to investigate the effects of delirium over time and establish whether frailty and delirium are independent risk factors for the development of dementia.

Our group has been chosen to host the European Delirium Conference in 2026 (Radisson Blu Scandinavia, Holbergs Plass, November 4-6). We also organized this conference in 2017, at Hotel Bristol in Oslo. In 2022 and 2024, we hosted the first two national delirium conferences at Diakonhjemmet and Ahus, respectively, in Oslo.

On-going projects

• Alpha 2 adrenergic receptor agonists for the prevention of delirium and cognitive decline after open heart surgery (ALPHA2PREVENT): randomised controlled trial
• Cooperation for improved pharmacotherapy in frail elderly people – The COOP study. A randomized controlled trial
• Adverse outcomes after delirium. A longitudinal study of patients with hip fracture with and without delirium
• Home-based patients with delirium
• Haemodynamic regulation in elderly persons
• Pathophysiology of delirium
• Spinal fluid findings from healthy elderly
• Acute sick elderlies in medical departments
• Delirium in care transitions

Cooperation

National collaboration

• Prof Geir Selbæk, PhD Gro G Tangen, Christian Myrstad. Ageing and Health (AaH). Frailty, delirium, biomarkers, and dementia risk

• Bjørn Heine Strand, PhD, Senior researcher and biostatistician at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) and AaH. Frailty, delirium, biomarkers, and dementia risk

• Dag Aarsland, Miguel G Borda, Centre of Age-Related Medicine (SESAM) Stavanger. Frailty, delirium, biomarkers, and dementia risk

• Hilde Margrethe Norum, OUS; Svein Aslak Landsverk, OUS; Øyvind Sverre Svendsen, Helse Bergen; Nils Kristian Skjærvold, St Olav; Astrid Kristine Kjærstad, UNN: Hovedutprøvere i ALPHA2PREVENT

• Harald Hubros-Strøm, Ahus: Sleep and delirium

• Tormod Omland, Helge Røsjø, Ahus CSF biomarkers (inflammation) in delirium and dementia. 

• Dag Aarsland, Mathias Hella, Hogne Sønnesyn, Aksel Paulsen. Stavanger University Hospital. Linking delirium and Lewy Body Dementia. CSF biomarkers. Epidemiology. CSF collection from hip fracture patients. 

• Kristian Bernhard Nilsen, Torbjørn Elvsåshagen, University of Oslo. 
• Melanie Rae Simpson and Eva Skovlund, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU. Medical statistics
• Anders Fjell, Kristine Walhovd: CSF and imaging (MR/fMR) changes in normal aging. Research Group for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, UIO. Read more about the research group here. 
• Ingebjørg Seljeflot, Ragnhild Helseth, Vibeke Braseth: CSF biomarkers in delirium and dementia. Center for Clinical Heart Research, Oslo University Hospital
• Lasse Giil: CSF biomarkers in delirium and dementia (inflammation, metabolism, neurodegeneration). University of Bergen
• Anne Brita Knapskog: CSF biomarkers and imaging changes (MR) in dementia and normal aging. Dementia Research Group, Oslo University Hospital.
• Evandro Fang. CSF biomarkers (protoemics, mitophagy) in delirium and dementia. Akershus University Hospital.
• Lene Solberg, Ingrid Fæhn Brekke: Collection of CSF from hip fracture patients. Dep of Orthopedic surgery/Dep of Anesthesiology at Oslo University Hospital, Norway. Dementia Research Group, OUS
• Marius Myrstad, Emilija Dunjic: Collection of CSF from hip fracture patients. Ortopedisk avdeling, geriatrisk avdeling og anestesiavdelingen, Vestre Viken, Bærum
• Asbjørn Årøen, Christian Pollmann: Collection of CSF from hip fracture patients. Ortopedisk avdeling og anestesiavdelingen, AHUS
• Mari Schibstad, Roy Olsen: Collection of CSF from hip fracture patients. Dep of Geriatrics/Dep of Anesthesiology, Arendal Hospital

International collaboration

• Prof. Arjen Slooter. UMC Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. ALPHA2PREVENT
• Prof. Kenneth Rockwood. Geriatric Medicine, Dalhousie Univ., Halifax, NS, Canada. Frailty, delirium, biomarkers, and dementia risk
• Prof. Gill Livingston. Division of Psychiatry, Univ. College London, London, UK. Frailty, delirium, biomarkers, and dementia risk
• Ass. Prof. Thomas Jackson. Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, Univ. of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. Frailty, delirium, biomarkers, and dementia risk 
• Prof. Felicity Baker. The Univ. of Melbourne,  Australia and Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo,. The Music therapy and Delirium Research Network. Music interventions for delirium in older adults
• Robert Sanders. University of Sydney, Australia:  EEG and serum/CSF biomarkers in delirium.
• Barbara von Munster. University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Serum/CSF biomarkers in delirium
• Henrik Zetterberg og Kaj Blennow. University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Serum/CSF biomarkers in delirium, dementia and normal ageing. 
• Colm Cunningham, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Pathophysiological mechanisms in delirium. 
• Emma Cunningham. Queen's University Belfast. Serum/CSF biomarkers in delirium
• Gideon Caplan. University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia: CSF biomarkers (inflammation, metabolism) in delirium and dementia. 
• Edinburgh Delirium Research Group (PI Prof Alasdair MacLullich), Department of Geriatric Medicine University of Edinburgh, UK. CSF biomarkers in delirium (inflammation, neurotransmitters, cortisol), delirium severity (survey), CSF biomarker review