Multi-omics characterization of improved cognitive functions in Parkinson’s disease patients after the combined metabolic activator treatment: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase II trialDepartment of Neurology and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Antalya 07070, Turkey.
Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institute, Neuroimaging Lab, Stockholm 17177, Sweden; Functional Imaging and Cognitive-Affective Neuroscience Lab, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul 34815, Turkey.
Centre for Host-Microbiome Interactions, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK.
Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul 34815, Turkey.
Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Antalya 07070, Turkey.
Functional Imaging and Cognitive-Affective Neuroscience Lab, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul 34815, Turkey.
Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Antalya 07070, Turkey.
Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Antalya 07070, Turkey.
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary, Atatürk University, Erzurum 25240, Turkey.
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary, Atatürk University, Erzurum 25240, Turkey.
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary, Atatürk University, Erzurum 25240, Turkey.
Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum 25240, Turkey.
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Erzurum Technical University, Erzurum 25050, Turkey.
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Erzurum Technical University, Erzurum 25050, Turkey.
Centre for Host-Microbiome Interactions, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK.
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary, Atatürk University, Erzurum 25240, Turkey.
BioInnovation Institute, Copenhagen DK-2200, Denmark.
Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum 25240, Turkey.
Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Gothenburg and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg 41345, Sweden.
Show others and affiliations
2025 (English)In: Brain Communications, E-ISSN 2632-1297, Vol. 7, no 1, article id fcae478Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Parkinson’s disease is primarily marked by mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic abnormalities. We recently reported that the combined metabolic activators improved the immunohistochemical parameters and behavioural functions in Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease animal models and the cognitive functions in Alzheimer’s disease patients. These metabolic activators serve as the precursors of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and glutathione, and they can be used to activate mitochondrial metabolism and eventually treat mitochondrial dysfunction. Here, we designed a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase II study in Parkinson’s disease patients with 84 days combined metabolic activator administration. A single dose of combined metabolic activator contains L-serine (12.35 g), N-acetyl-L-cysteine (2.55 g), nicotinamide riboside (1 g) and L-carnitine tartrate (3.73 g). Patients were administered either one dose of combined metabolic activator or a placebo daily for the initial 28 days, followed by twice-daily dosing for the next 56 days. The main goal of the study was to evaluate the clinical impact on motor functions using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale and to determine the safety and tolerability of combined metabolic activator. A secondary objective was to assess cognitive functions utilizing the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and to analyse brain activity through functional MRI. We also performed comprehensive plasma metabolomics and proteomics analysis for detailed characterization of Parkinson’s disease patients who participated in the study. Although no improvement in motor functions was observed, cognitive function was shown to be significantly improved (P < 0.0000) in Parkinson’s disease patients treated with the combined metabolic activator group over 84 days, whereas no such improvement was noted in the placebo group (P > 0.05). Moreover, a significant reduction (P = 0.001) in Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores was observed in the combined metabolic activator group, with no decline (P > 0.05) in the placebo group among severe Parkinson’s disease patients with lower baseline Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores. We showed that improvement in cognition was associated with critical brain network alterations based on functional MRI analysis, especially relevant to areas with cognitive functions in the brain. Finally, through a comprehensive multi-omics analysis, we elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying cognitive improvements observed in Parkinson’s disease patients. Our results show that combined metabolic activator administration leads to enhanced cognitive function and improved metabolic health in Parkinson’s disease patients as recently shown in Alzheimer’s disease patients.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oxford University Press (OUP) , 2025. Vol. 7, no 1, article id fcae478
Keywords [en]
combined metabolic activators, multi-omics, Parkinson’s disease, systems biology
National Category
Neurosciences Neurology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-359300DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae478ISI: 001397642700001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85215432829OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-359300DiVA, id: diva2:1932627
Note
QC 20250131
2025-01-292025-01-292025-02-13Bibliographically approved