# Protective roles of taurine in Alzheimer's disease brain

> **NIH NIH RF1** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2020 · $2,337,294

## Abstract

Abstract
This project will examine the protective effects and mechanisms of dietary taurine
supplementation in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We will measure
taurine uptake into the brain and taurine synthesis rates using labeled taurine and
magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Then, we will determine how much
protection taurine dietary supplementation (at various doses) provides against
progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) symptoms in an AD mouse model. The
protection will be measured using a battery of in vivo imaging markers (MRI, MRS,
positron emission tomography (PET), behavioral tests and post mortem markers of
neuroinflammation, AD pathology and neurochemistry (MRS) taken from the same
mice. Then, the same post mortem measurements will be made in human brain
tissue from a brain bank with very well characterized specimens including healthy
controls, mild cognitive impairment and pathologically confirmed Alzheimer’s
disease. The end result of the project should be a better understanding of the role of
taurine in the brain and good test of a novel therapeutic that can also be detected in
live human brain (a “theranostic”). This compound should be readily translatable to
human populations due to its widespread use among athletes as a dietary
supplement.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10055586
- **Project number:** 1RF1AG069228-01
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** ALPASLAN DEDEOGLU
- **Activity code:** RF1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $2,337,294
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10055586

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10055586, Protective roles of taurine in Alzheimer's disease brain (1RF1AG069228-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10055586. Licensed CC0.

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