Epidemiological study of dementia related factors using metabolomics analysis in general Japanese men

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19H03898
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 58030:Hygiene and public health-related: excluding laboratory approach
• Research Institution: Shiga University of Medical Science
• Principal Investigator: Kadota Aya 滋賀医科大学, 医学部, 准教授 (60546068)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 遠山 育夫 滋賀医科大学, 医学部, 理事 (20207533) ; 椎野 顯彦 滋賀医科大学, 神経難病研究センター, 准教授 (50215935) ; 三浦 克之 滋賀医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (90257452) ; 森野 勝太郎 滋賀医科大学, 医学部, 准教授 (90444447)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 認知症 / 疫学研究 / メタボロミクス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This project is to identify metabolites associated with mild cognitive decline and brain volume atrophy, which are the pre-stages of dementia, in a general community male cohort study using metabolomics analysis, and to elucidate the mechanism of cognitive decline and preventive measures. We analyzed the relationships between the 442 metabolites in blood identified by metabolomics analysis and cognitive function and microcerebrovascular lesions evaluated by head MRI, and investigated the metabolic pathways involved in the pathology.
As a result, a statistically significant relationship was found between cognitive function and 51 metabolites, and in particular, they have a statistically significant relationship with short-term memory, verbal ability, and fluency. A statistically significant association was also observed between the number of microcerebrovascular lesions and 45 metabolites.

Free Research Field

疫学・予防医学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究により日本人一般地域住民男性において認知機能低下に関与する代謝物を明らかにする事ができた。また、認知機能に加えて、頭部MRI所見、頸動脈エコー所見と代謝物との関連分析を行った。これらの成果を合わせ、代謝物からみた認知機能低下のメカニズム解明、予防法に関する提言を行う。認知症患者ではなく、一般住民を対象とした認知機能と代謝物の検討は世界的に少ない。本研究の成果は、特に本邦の認知症の一次予防に役立つと考える。