Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
194,230 studies31 sourcesUpdated 40 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BYnpj Parkinson's Disease

Plasma ceramide ratios define metabolic–inflammatory associations with cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease

  • Nuan Wang1
  • Guoqing Zhang1
  • Chang Li1
  • Jinghua Chen2
  • Qingyun Li1
  • Congxin Sun1
  • Liang Ma1
  • Peng Hu1
  • Lishun Xiao3
  • Qingwei Lai1
  1. 1Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University
  2. 2Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University
  3. 3School of Public Health, Xuzhou Medical University
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease (PD) remains difficult to stratify using accessible fluid biomarkers, and the metabolic–inflammatory relationships associated with cognitive decline remain incompletely quantified. Here, we examined the relationships among plasma ceramides, inflammatory cytokines, neurodegeneration biomarkers, and cognitive function in PD patients with varying degrees of cognitive impairment, patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA), and healthy controls. MSA was distinguished from PD by higher Cer 18:0/Cer 24:0 and Cer 24:1/Cer 24:0 ratios, despite overlapping cytokine and neurofilament light chain (NFL) profiles. Within PD, worsening cognitive status was accompanied by graded increases in specific ceramide ratios, inflammatory cytokines, and NFL. Cer 24:1/Cer 24:0 was independently associated with cognitive performance (B = − 2.01, P = 0.003). Structural equation modeling identified two association pathways between ceramide-related measures and cognition: a larger direct association (standardized β = −0.223; 60.8% of the total effect) and a smaller inflammation-related indirect association (standardized β = −0.133; 36.2%), whereas pathways involving NFL were not significant. These findings establish a ceramide-centered quantitative framework integrating metabolic and inflammatory dimensions of cognitive impairment in PD, supporting stratified biomarker development.

Related

  1. Prediction of cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease using TabPFN: an integrative analysis of clinical data, longitudinal trajectories, and lipidomics
    Zikai Zhou, Jie Liu, Lijuan Wang +5
    Frontiers in aging neurosciencePeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC
  2. Enhancing deep sleep with auditory stimulation to boost cognitive training responsiveness in people with Parkinson's disease and mild cognitive impairment: Rationale and design of the double-blind randomized controlled trial PD-CogT-Sleep
    A. Ophey, M. T. Kleinsorge, N. A. Wallimann +8
    medRxivPreprintAll rights reservedFull textNeurologymedRxiv
  3. Associations of physical function and multimorbidity with cognitive impairment in community-dwelling Chinese octogenarians
    Sensen Bian, Chengyao Tong, Fanli Meng +5
    Scientific ReportsPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textPsychiatry & mental healthCrossref
  4. Longitudinal associations between neuropsychiatric symptoms, structural and perfusion MRI changes in older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment
    G. Lombardi, C. C.-Y. Leung, R. Burge +3
    medRxivPreprintAll rights reservedFull textPsychiatry & mental healthmedRxiv
  5. Associations Between the Brain Care Score and Structural Brain Changes and Cognitive Impairment Using Data From the Hamburg City Health Study
    Jenna Schellin, Susanne Sehner, Marie Neumann +10
    European journal of neurologyPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{wang2026plasma,
  title = {{Plasma ceramide ratios define metabolic–inflammatory associations with cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease}},
  author = {Nuan Wang and Guoqing Zhang and Chang Li and Jinghua Chen and Qingyun Li and Congxin Sun and Liang Ma and Peng Hu and Lishun Xiao and Qingwei Lai},
  journal = {npj Parkinson's Disease},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1038/s41531-026-01479-5},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-026-01479-5},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Plasma ceramide ratios define metabolic–inflammatory associations with cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease
AU  - Nuan Wang
AU  - Guoqing Zhang
AU  - Chang Li
AU  - Jinghua Chen
AU  - Qingyun Li
AU  - Congxin Sun
AU  - Liang Ma
AU  - Peng Hu
AU  - Lishun Xiao
AU  - Qingwei Lai
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/01
JO  - npj Parkinson's Disease
DO  - 10.1038/s41531-026-01479-5
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-026-01479-5
AB  - Cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease (PD) remains difficult to stratify using accessible fluid biomarkers, and the metabolic–inflammatory relationships associated with cognitive decline remain incompletely quantified. Here, we examined the relationships among plasma ceramides, inflammatory cytokines, neurodegeneration biomarkers, and cognitive function in PD patients with varying degrees of cognitive impairment, patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA), and healthy controls. MSA was distinguished from PD by higher Cer 18:0/Cer 24:0 and Cer 24:1/Cer 24:0 ratios, despite overlapping cytokine and neurofilament light chain (NFL) profiles. Within PD, worsening cognitive status was accompanied by graded increases in specific ceramide ratios, inflammatory cytokines, and NFL. Cer 24:1/Cer 24:0 was independently associated with cognitive performance (B = − 2.01, P = 0.003). Structural equation modeling identified two association pathways between ceramide-related measures and cognition: a larger direct association (standardized β = −0.223; 60.8% of the total effect) and a smaller inflammation-related indirect association (standardized β = −0.133; 36.2%), whereas pathways involving NFL were not significant. These findings establish a ceramide-centered quantitative framework integrating metabolic and inflammatory dimensions of cognitive impairment in PD, supporting stratified biomarker development.
SN  - 2373-8057
ER  -