Blood and spinal fluid markers that signal thinking problems in Parkinson's disease
Official title: Identifying Metabolomic Markers in Conversion to Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease
Funded at University of Kentucky · NIH-11330302 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks for chemical fingerprints in blood and cerebrospinal fluid that might signal when people with Parkinson's disease start having memory and thinking problems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Kentucky NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Lexington, United States) |
| Project start | May 15, 2023 |
| Project end | February 29, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $260,396 |
| NIH project number | 5P20GM148326-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11330302 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with Parkinson's disease who do not yet have cognitive impairment and who can provide blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid samples or whose samples are already stored in a research biobank.
✕Less likely to help
People without Parkinson's, or those with already advanced dementia or cognitive problems driven by other diagnosed conditions not reflected in metabolite patterns, may not receive direct benefit from this work.
What this research studies
If you have Parkinson's disease, researchers will analyze blood and cerebrospinal fluid to look for small-molecule fingerprints (metabolites) that change when thinking declines. They will use sensitive laboratory methods (GC-MS and LC-MS) to measure many metabolites in samples taken before and after people develop cognitive problems, using banked samples from the UK-Alzheimer's Disease Research Center with some neuropathology confirmation. By comparing metabolite patterns over time within the same people, the team aims to find signals that precede or accompany conversion to cognitive impairment. Those findings will be used to guide more targeted blood-based tests for earlier detection of cognitive change in Parkinson's.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lead to blood or spinal fluid tests that warn when people with Parkinson's are likely to develop memory and thinking problems, allowing earlier planning of care and prevention trials.
How similar studies have gone: Prior metabolomics studies in neurodegeneration have produced promising candidate markers but have not yet produced widely accepted clinical tests to predict cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease.
Where this research is happening
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University of Kentucky
Lexington, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yamasaki, Tritia — University of Kentucky
- Study coordinator: Yamasaki, Tritia
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.