# Eye to Brain: Eye Biomarkers and Cognition

> **NIH NIH R03** · BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · $173,492

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The goal of our research is to identify ocular biomarkers that have diagnostic and potentially prognostic utility in
Alzheimer's Disease (AD), and establish a relationship to cognition. We seek to determine this relationship in
an already established cohort of patients (the Vitreous Biomarkers Study, or VBS) with eye disease where
protein biomarkers have been identified in the vitreous humor of the eye and found to be correlated to cognitive
function scores on mini-mental status examination (MMSE). There is a need for sensitive and specific
diagnostic tests that can detect AD in the early stages. We hypothesize that ocular levels of Aβ and Tau in
the aqueous humor of the eye as well as retinal biomarkers of neurodegeneration imaged by Optical
Coherence Tomography (OCT), combined with cognitive assessments, may offer a predictive value for
detection of early AD. In the VBS, we found that levels of beta amyloid (Aβ40, Aβ42), and total Tau (tTau) in
the vitreous humor are correlated with cognitive function scores obtained by mini-mental status examination
(MMSE). Drawing from the same patient cohort, we seek to establish the presence of the same proteins in the
aqueous humor of the eye (which is more clinically accessible than the vitreous humor), obtain OCT images to
look for retinal biomarkers, and repeat MMSE testing to look longitudinally at cognition, and correlate all eye
biomarkers with cognition. Additionally, we seek to validate the protein levels in the aqueous and vitreous
humor of eyes from postmortem subjects. If a relationship of protein and retinal biomarkers to cognition can be
shown, our knowledge of the eye's role in AD will be increased substantially and it will establish the eye as
potentially playing a central role in how we diagnose AD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9910353
- **Project number:** 5R03AG063255-02
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Manju Subramanian
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $173,492
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-15 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9910353

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9910353, Eye to Brain: Eye Biomarkers and Cognition (5R03AG063255-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9910353. Licensed CC0.

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