What is Autism? We are about people being diagnosed with this disease all the time but what is it really? Most people know the autism is a mental disorder in which the person has social problems. Normally they don’t interact or deal with certain social situations as others would and tend to be isolated. They also tend to develop intense interest in objects or subjects. Autism can also present it self in varying degrees, which is why there is an autism-spectrum used for diagnosis. Autism is a neurological disorder but it is not a straightforward one.
From the article we read there are a few issues in the brain that cause autism. One of the simpler ones is synapse dysfunction. Basically there are 2 proteins that help structure your synapses. Neuroexins and neuroligins form in the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons and bind to line up the neurons. In autism the neuroligins don’t function correctly affecting the neurons ability to transmit signals. Whats interesting about this is that it can be fixed. Just as learning involved synapses being created, we can essentially teach these neurons to fire correctly. Through therapy autistic people can learn to overcome their social issues.
Another interesting link this article presented was that of PUFAs or polyunsaturated fatty acids and autism. PUFAs in general are a good fat, if you are going to eat fat this is the kind you want. People diagnosed with autism show a decrease in PUFAs in their red blood cell membranes. PUFAs promote BDNF, which promotes neuron health and growth. PUFAs, such as arachadonic acid, also promote formation of SNARE complexes, which help in neuron outgrowth, and anti-inflammatory lipids, So your diet does play a role in autism. It has been shown that children with autism that change their diet to include more PUFAs show a decrease in symptoms. Autism can’t simply be cured with a better diet but it is interesting that something like that can help.
One topic we discussed as a group is the increase in autism diagnosis. As with a lot of neurological diseases, I believe that part of this has to do with awareness and better diagnostic processes. We are aware that autism exists and what the symptoms are so we can better find it. Although the procedure for testing for autism isn’t exact. There is no blood test or imaging we can due to find autism, it is solely a behavior examination. So both awareness and perhaps a little misdiagnosis may play a role in the increase. It may also have to due with diet. A lot of foods we eat today contain saturated fats. Since we generally have diets low in polyunsaturated fats and high in saturated, we arent getting the neuroprotection we normally would and this is causing autism. While this isn’t the only problem, I do think that pregnant and nursing mothers could eat a diet high in PUFAs to help prevent the development of autism.
Overall autism isn’t a disease that we fully understand. We have some idea on what causes it and some ways to help treat it but nothing is perfect yet. Hopefully with awareness and continued research some day we can crack this disease.
How Obesity and Eating Cause Each Other
Obesity is on the rise in the US and you can’t help but wonder why. We know that eating healthy and exercise are important, but people are still obese. Maybe the problem is actually the food itself. With liters pop full of sugary corn syrup being drunk and Oreos disappearing by the row, maybe we just cant control ourselves. Well as it turns out we have less control over our ability to overeat than we previously thought. Normally as we eat our body produces leptin and insulin to activate POMC neurons and inhibit AgRP neurons to signal that we are no longer hungry. As we begin to overwork our production of leptin and insulin, like in diabetes, we lose the signaling to these neurons and never get the “I am full” signal to stop eating. Even more interestingly, overeating leads to a change in brain makeup. In a similar way that drugs like cocaine effect the brain, highly energetic food increases dopamine release in the brain. The basically means that we get a higher reward from eating foods high in fat and sugar. We may even be predisposed before we are even born. Studies on mice show that mother’s that have a high carbohydrate diet before mating and during pregnancy and weaning produce offspring that are predisposed to high carb diets. A combination of fewer POMC neurons and impaired hypothalmic energy regulation are the cause. Basically if your mother eats and unhealthy diet while pregnant with you, you are predisposed to eat and unhealthy diet. Not only is obesity a self-causing problem, but it also affects the brain in a way that causes a lot of health issues. Overnutrition leads to an increase in production of cytokines. These signaling molecules cause inflammation. The increased inflammation in the hypothalamus leads to problems in insulin regulation, glucose metabolism, and cognition.
The implications of this research show how important diet is throughout your whole life. Not only do you have to actively try to eat healthy, but if you want to have children it is even more important to eat healthy during pregnancy and early life. By eating healthy during your child’s early life and pregnancy, you can get rid of the innate need for high energy foods. So not only would you help the naturally want to eat healthier, but you set them up to avoid obesity-linked diseases like diabetes and metabolic syndrome. We love to blame people for making themselves obese, but in actuality it isn’t all their fault. With food that reacts just like drugs and a disposition towards high carb foods that dates back to pregnancy, obesity is a lot more difficult to deal with that we ever thought.
Hey…Hey…Hey…Goodbye
Wow! I cannot believe I am doing this but I am writing my final blog for you guys. I hope that someone has actually been reading these blogs or it is going to be very awkward. Well, it’s that time of the year again when snow is falling, it’s -17 degrees out, and I am trying to cram everything in before finals week. I just want to say that this neurochemistry class has been one of my favorite classes that I have taken here at Concordia College. When I think chemistry class, I think chemicals and formulas until my head hurts but neurochemistry has been a pleasant surprise.
I think that this class fulfills every requirement that is needed to be considered a capstone course. It has been one of few courses that have been able to mesh everything that I have learned as a liberal arts student and have it make sense. If you have not noticed already, my blogs have been infused with chemistry, biology, psychology, and even a little sociology. I believe that the structure of this class played a crucial role in the overall quality of the class.
The first half of our semester consisted of learning everything that we needed to learn in order for us to even comprehend anything that the articles were talking about. This included learning about neurotransmitters, receptors, and other functions of the brain. But the fun came the second part the semester where we got to read and discuss articles like we have never done before. Typically, on Mondays we would go around and discuss what we did not understand about the articles and what we found interesting. This just got the juices flowing in our brain after a long weekend of fun and what not. I’m just kidding, I don’t do fun on weekends. They are saved for studying! DUH! On Wednesdays, we would teach our classmates on a topic that was not fully understood in the article. At first, I thought that Wednesdays were a dud because I was having a hard time paying attention to the twenty some topics that were being discussed but thankfully our professor changed up the format towards the middle of the discussions. We switched to a speed dating type of atmosphere where we could discuss topics to individuals rather than the entire class. This made it easier to pay attention to all the topics and made it more fun as well. Finally, on Friday mornings, after a long night at “the office,” we would come together and discuss the topic as groups. These discussions were not only about the article but the implications of the research along with more broad ideas. Since most of our class consisted of people that we have known for almost four years, discussions were free flowing and fun at times. The structure of the class really contributed to the experience that I had with my capstone course but I believe that I learned the most during our two “exams.”
Our exams were deconstructed versions of scientific papers and we were responsible for putting the ideas together to form ideas. This process required a lot of critical thinking along with utilization of previous knowledge. This is the part of the class that I was able to utilize everything that I learned as a chemistry and biology major. After piecing everything together in the in-class portion of the exam we took home a copy of our exam and a copy of the actual article. Our job was to evaluate our reconstruction of the concept. Our grade was not based on how well we put together the puzzle but it was based on how well we supported our thinking. This made me realize how much I had learned in such a short time here at Concordia College.
I could potentially argue that this was one of the best classes that I have taken in my college career. It was both fun and informative. I have learned more about the brain and its pathways than I have ever learned before. This class provided an environment where I was able to apply all my knowledge in a creative and scientific way. If you asked me on the first day of school, if I would have loved this class, I would have answered with a loud “probably not.” However, now that the semester is coming to an end, I believe that I will dearly miss this class.
Calcium and Its Connection to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Amyotrophic later sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is disease characterized by death of motor neurons leading to mobile impairment and eventually death. This disease affects approximately 30,000 people in the United States and is quickly gaining notoriety. The average lifespan after the diagnosis of ALS is between 3 and 5 years. In all honesty, I did not know that much about ALS going into this week and I learned a lot.
Our article discussed that fact that calcium homeostasis in crucial in the proper folding of proteins within the cell. Dysfunction of calcium regulation can lead to improperly folded proteins and neurodegradation. The UPR pathway is responsible for properly folding protein within a cell and is highly regulated by calcium levels. The current treatment for ALS is used to delay the symptoms by slowing down neuronal death.
The worst part about ALS is that it debilitates a person and it affects every person around them. Individuals with ALS require constant care and therapy. As a person who plans to dedicate the rest of my life serving the needs of people, I find this disease sad. I cannot image the pain it must cause to an individual’s family. I hope that new research is discovered in the near future to help combat this disease. Since this is the last blog that I will post about an article that we read, I just want to let everyone know that this stuff rocks and I will keep reading on.
I’m PUFA for Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids
Let me be clear, I am not clear to argue with anyone about autism, vaccines, or the content I feel for bad science (if you get what I am saying). I am just here to talk about what my classmates and I have talked about over the past week.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) consists a multitude of varying disorders in which people have impairment in social and communication skills. Within the autism spectrum there is autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and pervasive developmental disorder. In the past two decades, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders has increased drastically. It is difficult to pin point a single reason why this is occurring.
What our class focused on this week in our discussions was polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). PUFAs are fatty acids that are essential to proper brain function. What I have learned from class is that PUFAs help regulate processes that involve cell proliferation. In ASDs, PUFAs are either not metabolized properly or are not doing their jobs. This leads the problems seen in ASDs.
One thing that I found interesting from this article was the importance of prenatal care. Research has indicates that maternal infections leading to an inflammatory response may elicit altered gene expression lead to dysfunction of brain function as well as alterations in PUFA metabolism. This suggests that proper prenatal care is crucial in the combat against ASDs. One way noted in the paper was a diet rich in PUFAs. A diet high in PUFAs will provide the growing fetus with the necessary nutrients to maintain proper brain development.
That most interesting thing that I learned all week was that there is a potential cure of autism that has reached its clinical trials. This means that the study has moved past animal testing and plans to test the drug in humans. This drug is known as Suramin. Suramin is a drug that has been on the market for many years for the treatment of African Sleep Sickness but it has recently been seen to help alleviate some of the symptoms in autism. I am not going to go into the specifics of the science behind this new hope for autism but if you want to check out some information I advise you to look at the following articles.
“Purinergic signaling is involved in many biological processes linked to autism, such as the development of synapses, or junctions between neurons, as well as gut permeability, immune responses, brain inflammation, and the activation of microglia, the brain’s immune cells. “The cell danger response theory explains so much that was inexplicable before.”
“Antipurinergic Therapy Corrects the Autism-Like Features in the Poly(IC) Mouse Model”
Lithium, More than Just Your Average Alkali Metal
With the atomic number 3, lithium is widely known as an alkali metal in the scientific community. However, when you move into the medical world, lithium is known for its clinical treatment for bipolar disorder. Lithium helps to combat the manic phase in bipolar disorder but no one is sure about how this exactly works. To make this simple to understand, I will break it down for you. Lithium’s actions in the brain will lead to inhibition of apoptosis (cell death) or stimulation of cell proliferation. I do not want to bog you down with all the science but if you do want a more scientific look at it, here is an image.
You are probably wondering right now, “if lithium is such a good thing, why is it not used for more diseases.” Well…researchers have been looking into the potential of lithium as a treatment for a multitude of neurodegenerative disorders including Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, etc. Researchers have found success in treating some of the diseases in animal models but success has not translated into human trials.
Although lithium seems like a good potential treatment for many neurodegenerative diseases, I believe that it comes with many consequences. Obviously, we have all learned too much of anything can turn into a bad thing but what do we do when we do not fully understand a good thing? Lithium has been used to treat bipolar disorder for the past 5 decades and we still cannot figure out how it does its job. Furthermore, if you look at the picture, you will notice that lithium can affect a whole bunch of other pathways. That is a lot of power for one simple alkali metal that I want no part of before I understand all of it. But as Uncle Ben said, “With great power, comes great responsibility.”
What a Hit! The True Story About Concussions
Concussions are possibly one of the most common injuries for contact sports like football, boxing, hockey, etc. Players get hit in the head all the time and injuries occur frequently. Although concussions are common, they are not fully understood by the general public. This week in our senior neurochemistry course, my classmates and I discussed the article The Molecular Pathophysiology of Concussive Brain Injury. The article does a good job of outlining what happens when a person is concussed.
When a player or person suffers a concussion, the brain becomes “leaky.” The brain begins to initiate random action potentials which then cause the release of excitatory neurotransmitters (glutamate). The brain then attempts to restore the balance. This will then cause the brain to go into hyperglycolysis, leaving behind an abundance of lactic acid. Next, there is a calcium influx which will lead to impairment of oxidative metabolism and eventually apoptosis. This is a very short version of the cellular events.
This may seem scary but modern medicine has allowed us to properly treat concussion and to limit the lasting effects. However, the worst part about concussions is that people sometimes do not know that they have a concussion or they just don’t care and want to continue to play. Symptoms of a concussion vary from person to person but common symptoms include behavioral changes, memory impairment, headaches, and cognitive impairment. The only thing a person can do to treat a concussion is to rest and allow the brain to heal itself. This may range from proper rest to eating a proper diet to watching your favorite shows. This seems simple enough but the case is that repeated concussions occur commonly. Repeated concussions have strong negative effects on a person’s cognitive ability and potentially lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy which is a serious brain disorder that leads to death. This is why athletes must be continuously monitored. A person must let their brain fully recover before they can take another hit.
In my opinion, concussions in contact sports like football and boxing must be carefully monitored. Another way to combat the concussions is to educate the future athletes on preventing concussions. People may say that the evolution of football and the new rules that protect the players take away from the integrity of the game but the safety of the players is far more important than the game itself. I believe that more precautions can be made to ensure the safety and longevity of each player without distorting the integrity of the game.
Wait a minute, Doc. Ah… Are You Telling Me that You Built a Treatment for Parkinson’s….with Iron?
For all those not understanding my title, it is a rip-off of a quote from Marty McFly , portrayed by Michael J. Fox, from the 1985 classic Back to the Future. This past week my classmates and I discussed the article Targeting dyregulation of brain iron homeostasis in Parkinson’s disease by iron chelators. Honestly, I was blown away by the amount of information that I did not know about Parkinson’s disease (PD). What most people know about PD is that it is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons and the formation of Lewy bodies which lead to tremors and muscle stiffness.
The article tries to discussion the role that iron may play in PD. Iron exists within the body in two forms: Fe2+ and Fe3+. It is essential for the body to have a homeostasis or proper balance of the two ionic forms. These two forms of iron are important to the redox reactions within the body. Dysfunction in this mechanism may have potential dangerous side effects. A dysregulation of the two forms of iron are seen in the brains of patients with PD. Elevated levels of iron may cause the formation and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) along with intracellular alpha-synuclein. Iron chelators help reduce the amount of iron in the brain and attempt to maintain homeostasis.
The most interesting part of this article, in my opinion was the discussion on how green tea can be beneficial to PD. I find this interesting, as I take a sip from my hot cup of green tea, because I come from a Chinese descent. Green tea, along with an oriental diet, has been shown to have many benefits. Green tea’s beneficial effects come from compounds known as catechins. The catechins have been shown to relieve oxidative stress by inhibiting the ROS-NO pathway and also chelate transitional metal ions. Green tea is such a “hot topic” that the Chinese Ministry of Health and the Michael J. Fox Foundation have been funding research to study the potential effects of green on PD. The potential of this research makes me hopeful for the future of those at risk for PD.
A Connection from Type 2 Diabetes to Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is well known neurodegenerative disorder that affects many people all over the world. Popular media and modern science has made it clear that there is a clear connection between type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. Furthermore, new research presented in the article, Possible Implications of insulin resistance and glucose metabolism in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis has shed some light on the connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. In my personal experience, with most of the elder’s in my family having type 2 diabetes, I have learned that diabetes is a frightful monster than can lead to a plethora of health complications but I have never understood it well. Until this article, I was unaware of insulin’s essential roles in the brain. For example, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) has been found to be essential in the proliferation of cells and the regulation of glucose metabolism. Right now, you might be thinking, “what in the world is this guy saying? I don’t get the connection.” My answer: stay calm you must my young padawan.
One of many key links between these two diseases is INFLAMMATION. If you have too little insulin, this will cause an increase in an inflammatory response and an increase in oxidative stress. This will lead to apoptosis and the destruction of the synapses in the brain. Furthermore, decreased insulin will lead to decreased norepinephrine and eventually, decreased cognitive function. Insulin’s ability to regulate inflammatory responses in the brain is critical in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
As time has passed in our nation, processed foods and high fat diets are more and more common. Type 2 diabetes has quickly become one of the most concerning diseases in the young American public. If this connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s becomes a legitimate concept, we could potentially see a spike in Alzheimer’s disease occurrences along with early onset of the disease.
This is some scary stuff, right? I find that new research like this is terrifying but I realize that not that many people actually care. People have known that diabetes comes with a cornucopia of health complications but the American public has failed to do anything about it. Diet plays a large role in the development of diabetes and I believe that is where we start our assault on diabetes and ultimately Alzheimer’s disease. Prevention of diabetes has never been more important than now. With more and more research being published about this connection, we risk the health of many Americans if nothing is done to correct the diets of our society. Obviously, Alzheimer’s disease is a multifaceted disorder but people can learn to minimize their risk by properly regulating their diets.
When In Doubt, Sit It Out
What exactly happens when you get a concussion? Are there any long-term repercussions of getting one? Previous to reading this weeks article, I figured that getting a concussion or multiple concussions was detrimental, what I didn’t know were the serious, long-term negative effects that multiple concussions can have. Repeated concussions can lead to a disease called CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), which leads to many dementia-like symptoms. Clinical symptoms include changes in mood, behavior, cognition, and in some cases motor disturbance. This disease is often found in athletes, many times in contact sports such as football, boxing, or ice hockey. Most often these symptoms do not appear until many years after trauma, and to make matters more complicated, as of right now the disease can only be diagnosed postmortem. Many have died not from the disease itself, but from disease related behaviors such as suicide. It is a serious disease that does not seem to get much attention. So, back to my first question, what exactly happens when you get a concussion?
Right after trauma to the brain a complex cascade of neurochemical and nuerometabolic events occur. The flux of ions gets thrown off, leading to physical membrane defects. Due to this, neurotransmitters are release and this results in further ion flux. Energy is used up by the brain attempting to keep ionic balance. When these events occur just once and the brain has time to heal, not much damage is done, but when repeated injuries occur this may result in permanent damage and conditions such as CTE. All this science mumbo jumbo may not mean much; what should we do about this issue?
An easy solution would be to simply stop playing sports after a certain number of concussions, or to take a very safe amount of time off after suffering from a concussion. Unfortunately, the solution is not this simple. Many athletes who get a concussion wish to keep playing regardless, especially when it has been a while since the concussion occurred. Many do not take serious enough how long it takes to fully recover from a concussion. Athletes may feel completely fine after a concussion, even if the brain is not fully recovered. It is important to note that there are various levels of severity when it comes to concussions. Depending on this severity and the number of concussions someone has suffered in the past, athletes may be out for up to a month or should stop playing for the rest of the season. The fact is, that this is not always what is really happening. Many athletes go back to playing or even just practicing before they should, resulting in more concussions and thus major brain injuries later in life. By reading this article, I have come to realize the severity of multiple concussions. This problem may be larger than we realize and many athletes may suffer later in life from something they don’t even know is currently happening in their brain. We need to start taking concussions more seriously and hopefully more research will aid us in understanding diseases such as CTE before death so we can do something to prevent or treat them.