PMDC pilot grant helps VCU researchers land DOD funding

By Sean Gorman

A pilot grant from the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center (PMDC) helped VCU researchers secure a federal grant to research links between pesticide exposure and cognitive decline.

Laxmikant Deshpande, Ph.D., an associate professor in the VCU Department of Neurology, and Joseph McClay, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science, used a PMDC pilot grant they were awarded last year to study how organophosphates used in certain pesticides could impact neural connections that support memory functions.

That testing gathered preliminary data used to unlock a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Toxic Exposures Research Program for further research. The VCU research team learned in March they were being recommended for the DOD grant to undertake more testing into the cognitive impacts of chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate pesticide used on common crops like cotton, apples, and broccoli.

Deshpande says he and McClay have been examining how that kind of pesticide affects farmers who work fields treated with those chemicals and how organophosphates impacted soldiers, such as those who got exposed during their deployment in the First Gulf War.

“There is anecdotal evidence, and there is mounting epidemiological evidence for a link between pesticide exposure and neurodegenerative conditions,” Deshpande says.

For example, studies have shown soldiers reporting mood and memory- related problems after returning from the First Gulf War (Gulf War Illness) and farmers having cognitive issues and — in some cases — an elevated risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease after tending crops sprayed with organophosphate pesticides, he says.

It all began when researchers approached PMDC and secured a $50,000 award from the center. They used it to run tests on rodents exposed to chlorpyrifos to see if they experienced memory problems. Desphande says initial testing showed an effect on memory following occupational-like chlorpyrifos exposure. McClay generated additional data on epigenetic changes in the brains of rats that exhibited memory impairments.

“We used that pilot funding from PMDC to generate the preliminary data that was needed to successfully compete for this DOD application,” Deshpande says.

Now the team will undertake a more in-depth examination of how pesticide exposure changes the brain, and researchers also plan to screen drugs to reverse those impacts.

“The bigger question is: are these memory-related issues a harbinger of ultimately developing Alzheimer’s?” Deshpande says. “That’s the part that we don’t know. But that is where we will go in the future years.”

The exact funding amount from the DOD grant isn’t known yet, but Desphande estimates it will cover additional research that will probably lead to $750,000 in total costs.

Desphande credits the PMDC grant for giving their study a crucial boost to overcome a key barrier to securing a larger pool of funding: covering the costs needed to run experiments generating high-quality preliminary findings that justify a DOD award.

“To generate preliminary data, we need to make an investment,” Deshpande says.

“The fact that the DOD reviewers thought it was a very well-written and a very nicely put together application is a testament of the quality of data, which stems from the PMDC support,” he says.