# Exercise Mimetics for Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease

> **NIH NIH RF1** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2023 · $2,262,938

## Abstract

Project Summary
Dementia or major neurocognitive disorder is a condition of significant cognitive decline that impairs
independent living. Learning and memory, executive function, perceptual-motor function, social cognition, and
language may be affected. Although dementia is typically associated with aging, it is not a natural component
of the aging process. Dementia is associated with several diseases, but most commonly associated with AD
(60-80%). AD is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with clinical features that include memory loss,
cognitive impairment and dementia. More than 5 million Americans currently live with AD and it is expected to
increase to as much as 16 million by 2050. Ten percent of individuals over the age of 65 in the U.S. currently
have AD. Current treatments for AD have limited efficacy and there is a significant need for improved
pharmacological therapies. AD is characterized by the formation of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in
the grey matter of affected individuals. The senile plaques are composed of extracellular deposition of
insoluble amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides that are typically associated with a wealth of microglia (brain resident
macrophages) and astrocytes. ERRs are orphan receptors that play a key role in regulation of oxidative
metabolism, and we have discovered that they function as exercise mimetics and enhance cognitive function in
normal and aged mice as well as decrease amyloid plaques in animal models of AD. The goal of this project is
to develop optimized ERR agonists that may be effective agents in treatment of dementia and Alzheimer's
disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10586188
- **Project number:** 1RF1AG077160-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Thomas P Burris
- **Activity code:** RF1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $2,262,938
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-02-01 → 2026-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10586188

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10586188, Exercise Mimetics for Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease (1RF1AG077160-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10586188. Licensed CC0.

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