# Using Photobiomodulation to Alleviate Brain Hypoperfusion in Alzheimer's Disease

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON · 2024 · $608,751

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Alzheimer's disease is one of the most common and progressive genetic neurodegenerative disorders in
the US with more than 5 million people currently living with Alzheimer's disease. A critical gap in knowledge is
how vascular brain perfusion dynamics are involved in vascular dementia. This emerging and difficult area of
inquiry has limited investigations into the neurovascular system, brain emergent networks, with only indirect
applications related to neurological diseases, where the functional role of protein arginine methyltransferases as
they relate to brain metabolism, circulation, functional learning and memory are understudied. Here, we seek to
investigate protein arginine methyltransferase 4 as an important age and sex-related brain regulatory element to
delay vascular cognitive impairment disorders. We recently discovered protein arginine methyltransferase 4 was
enhanced in the AD brain in mice and humans. Our central hypothesis is the inhibition of protein arginine
methyltransferase 4 via photobiomodulation, a non-invasive therapeutic (808 nm, 35 mW/cm2), can enhance
neurovascular coupling, maintain blood-brain-barrier integrity, and attenuate learning/memory deficits in aged
3xTg-AD mice. Therefore, inhibition of PRMT4 in the AD brain can revive microvessel perfusion and
hypoperfusion-mediated AD. This is a multi-PI proposal garnering the strengths of Dr. Kevin Lin, a protein
arginine methyltransferase expert in cerebral vascular brain perfusion (via two-photon laser scanning
microscopy) in various disease states such as AD and stroke/ischemia, and Dr. Quanguang Zhang, an expert in
functional behavior outcomes related to AD/ADRD with strengths in photobiomodulation as a clinically relevant
therapy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11069677
- **Project number:** 7R01AG081874-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Hung Wen (Kevin) Lin
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $608,751
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 2023-05-15 → 2028-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11069677

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11069677, Using Photobiomodulation to Alleviate Brain Hypoperfusion in Alzheimer's Disease (7R01AG081874-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11069677. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*