# Geroscience metabolites beta-hydroxybutyrate and NAD+ linking inflammation and neuroenergetic failure in delirium

> **NIH NIH R01** · BUCK INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH ON AGING · 2022 · $769,087

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Delirium is a geriatric syndrome of fluctuating confusion that is a common complication of surgery and
hospitalization in older adults, and is associated with increased risk of death, disability, and dementia. People
with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) are at especially high risk for delirium. The
pathophysiology of delirium is not well understood, but is thought to include neuroinflammation and brain
energetic disruption. These features also link delirium to ADRD. Impaired cerebral glucose metabolism is a
chronic feature of ADRD, and an acute feature of delirium. Similarly, chronic neuroinflammation is thought to
be an important contributor to ADRD, and acute inflammation is associated with delirium. In this translational
project we propose to test an innovative molecular link between acute-on-chronic brain inflammation and
metabolic dysfunction, using cell systems, mouse models, and biospecimens from a human delirium cohort.
 Ketone bodies provide a non-glucose energy source for the brain during fasting, and ketone body
metabolism remains intact in ADRD even with impaired glucose metabolism. We recently found that disrupted
glucose metabolism is an important driver of behavioral changes in mouse models of delirium. We also
recently showed that a ketogenic diet improves memory in both aging mice and an ADRD mouse model. We
developed an innovative toolkit of compounds and genetic models to mechanistically study ketone bodies
experimentally. We hypothesize that energetic support from ketone bodies might help compensate for
inflammation-induced neuronal impairments in glucose metabolism. We also elucidated a new mechanism
linking inflammation to metabolism, showing that activation of peripheral macrophages induces enzymes that
degrade the key metabolic mediator NAD+. Inflammation-driven NAD+ depletion occurs chronically in aging and
ADRD, and may occur acutely in delirium.
 We will use an inflammation model of delirium with normal mice and two ADRD models to test if ketone
bodies or NAD+ can rescue acute delirium-like behavioral changes, and identify the relevant mechanisms (Aim
1). We will use cultured cells and an in vivo brain inflammation model to determine if activated microglia
deplete NAD+ similarly to macrophages, and whether preventing this also rescues delirium-like behaviors (Aim
2). Finally, we will use cerebrospinal fluid samples from a large clinical study of postoperative delirium to
determine how endogenous ketone body and NAD+ levels differ between patients with vs. without delirium
(Aim 3). This collaborative project links basic science expertise in ketone body and NAD+ biology relevant to
ADRD, with basic and clinical research expertise in delirium. It will open a new area of mechanistic study on
inflammation-induced metabolic deficits in delirium, guiding development of translational interventions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10408167
- **Project number:** 5R01AG068025-03
- **Recipient organization:** BUCK INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH ON AGING
- **Principal Investigator:** John C Newman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $769,087
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-15 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10408167

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10408167, Geroscience metabolites beta-hydroxybutyrate and NAD+ linking inflammation and neuroenergetic failure in delirium (5R01AG068025-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10408167. Licensed CC0.

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