# Identifying Metabolomic Markers in Conversion to Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · 2024 · $269,184

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Parkinson's disease (PD), the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder, affects an
estimated six million people worldwide and costs over $23 billion annually in healthcare costs in
the US alone. A major portion of this cost is a direct result of the morbidity related to cognitive
impairment that develops in 50-80% of PD patients. This morbidity appears to be driven by
pathologic accumulation of the protein alpha-synuclein and Alzheimer disease (AD)-related
pathologies. The ability to predict the development of cognitive impairment would have impact on
prognosis, treatment, and clinical trial design for preventative therapies in PD. The goal of this
project is to identify novel metabolomic markers associated with cognitive impairment in PD. This
project will utilize gas chromatography mass-spectroscopy (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-
mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) methods to assess the blood- and cerebrospinal fluid-derived
metabolome from advanced PD patients without cognitive impairment. We will then assess
steady-state metabolomic profiles of plasma taken from patients before and after conversion to
cognitive impairment which have been banked over time by the UK-Alzheimer's Disease
Research Center, a portion of which have neuropathological correlation. The results of these
studies will guide a more targeted approach to plasma biomarker evaluation before and after the
conversion from normal to impaired cognition in patients drawn from the clinic population. The
resources of the CNS-Met Metabolomics Core will be essential to the completion of these aims
via assessment of steady-state metabolomics utilizing GC-MS and LC-MS. These studies are
expected to provide new biomarker candidates for predicting conversion to cognitive impairment
in PD and data for future R01-level applications.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10841479
- **Project number:** 5P20GM148326-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
- **Principal Investigator:** Tritia Yamasaki
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $269,184
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-05-15 → 2028-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10841479

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10841479, Identifying Metabolomic Markers in Conversion to Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease (5P20GM148326-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10841479. Licensed CC0.

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