Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 14, 2026

Gait Analysis of Age-dependent Motor Impairments in Mice with Neurodegeneration
Published on: June 18, 2018
Associations of Monocyte Glucocerebrosidase with Cognition and Cholinergic Innervation in GBA1 Parkinson's Disease
Sofie Slingerland1, Sygrid van der Zee1,2, Sven C D van Ijzendoorn3
1Department of Neurology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Background:
The GBA1 gene encodes the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCase). Parkinson's disease (PD) patients carrying a GBA1 variant (GBA-PD) exhibit faster cognitive decline, linked to cholinergic degeneration.
Objectives:
The aim was to investigate whether GCase activity, measured in monocytes, correlates with cognitive dysfunction or regional brain cholinergic innervation in early-stage PD patients.
Methods:
A total of 137 PD patients underwent a complete neuropsychological assessment, blood sampling, brain magnetic resonance imaging, and 18F-fluoroethoxybenzovesamicol positron emission tomography (PET). Monocytic GCase activity was quantified using flow cytometry with the substrate 5-pentafluorobenzoylamino fluorescein di-β-d-glucopyranoside.
Results:
Monocytes from GBA-PD (n = 42) patients exhibited significant lower GCase activity (P = 0.007) compared to those from non-GBA-PD individuals (n = 95). However, GCase activity did not correlate with cognition. Similarly, voxel-wise and volume-of-interest PET analyses did not reveal associations with monocytic GCase activity.
Conclusions:
Monocytic GCase activity does not appear to be a reliable biomarker for cognitive decline in early-stage PD and is not linked to regional cholinergic denervation. Peripheral measurements do not reflect central processes underlying cholinergic dysfunction. © 2026 The Author(s). Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Related Concept Videos
Neural Regulation
Parkinson's Disease: Overview
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ...
Parkinson's Disease: Treatment
Parkinson's Disease is primarily a result of the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The cornerstone of...
Lysosomal Hydrolases

