# Build-up of beta-amyloid in the brain in Parkinson's disease

> **NIH NIH SC3** · UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DEL CARIBE · 2024 · $69,705

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT:
Amyloid beta (Aβ) is the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) but also affects Parkinson’s disease (PD)
patients, especially in later stages when PD dementia (PDD) starts to develop. When PDD advances, about
50% of PDD patients develop extensive neuropathology similar to AD. This includes misfolded Aβ plaques
and tau neurofibrillary tangles, while the source and scale of Aβ-produced damage and its effects on PDD
development are unknown. In 53% of PD patients there is also an accumulation of insoluble Aβ amyloid
around blood vessels, known as cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). We previously found that systemic
Aβ peptide, generated by blood platelets during cerebral thrombosis, is highly visible on and around the
blood vessels within the brain. In addition, in a murine model of PD, when chemicals are injected into the
brain to kill dopaminergic neurons, Aβ appears on and around blood vessel walls. We hypothesized that
tissue accumulation of Aβ and CAA in PD may be the result of continual platelet activation due to local
brain inflammation, with high quantities of Aβ transported through blood vessel walls to brain tissue,
causing injury. The objectives of this proposal are to find the platelet-related mechanisms involved in late-
PD pathogenesis. Our specific aims will test whether the direct reduction of platelet count, platelet
activation/degranulation, or blood plasma Aβ carriers are important in the development of Aβ
accumulation. Our proposed innovative research will determine whether this direct approach is effective
and could thereby lead to a cure for late-stage Aβ accumulation in PD. This approach might open the way
for new therapeutics to stop the development of PDD, which would be a very significant contribution to
public health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11089778
- **Project number:** 3SC3GM143983-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DEL CARIBE
- **Principal Investigator:** MIKHAIL INYUSHIN
- **Activity code:** SC3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $69,705
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11089778

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11089778, Build-up of beta-amyloid in the brain in Parkinson's disease (3SC3GM143983-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11089778. Licensed CC0.

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