Prenatal chemical exposures linked to midlife thinking and early Alzheimer's signs
Official title: Association of the in Utero Exposome with Life-Course Cognition and Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease in Midlife.
Funded at Public Health Institute · NIH-10795777 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will look at whether chemical and other exposures during pregnancy are tied to thinking problems and early Alzheimer's-related changes in adults followed since birth.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Public Health Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Oakland, United States) |
| Project start | September 20, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $706,253 |
| NIH project number | 4R01NS130713-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-10795777 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are adults from the Child Health and Development Studies birth cohort who can attend midlife exams and provide blood and cognitive testing, typically those around midlife with available prenatal records.
✕Less likely to help
People without prenatal records or those already living with advanced symptomatic Alzheimer's are unlikely to get direct benefit from this observational biomarker work.
What this research studies
If you take part, researchers will use stored prenatal and maternal samples plus current blood tests to connect in‑utero exposures with midlife thinking and early Alzheimer's-related blood markers. Participants will complete cognitive testing and provide blood for detailed metabolomics and biomarker analyses. The work follows about 400 people from a 50+ year birth cohort who were seen in childhood and adolescence and are being re‑examined in midlife. Scientists will focus on metabolic pathways already linked to brain aging, such as glutathione, methionine/cysteine, pyrimidine, and energy metabolism, to find actionable prevention targets.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reveal blood markers and biological pathways in midlife that point to earlier prevention or intervention strategies to lower Alzheimer's risk.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work links metabolomic changes and glutathione‑related pathways to cognitive decline, but using prenatal exposures to predict midlife Alzheimer's risk is a newer, less tested approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Public Health Institute
Oakland, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Cohn, Barbara a — Public Health Institute
- Study coordinator: Cohn, Barbara a
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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.