Our final topic of the year is ALS – a disease that when diagnosed with, will be fatal within 3-5 years. There are very few medications for the treatment of this disease, only one has been approved by the FDA in 1995. The cause of this disease is not yet found, but the latest research seems to believe that ALS is linked to abnormal calcium levels in the cell. These abnormal calcium levels in cells are believed to cause misfolding of proteins and stress on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of cells. Because the ER is a site for protein packaging and folding, when the ER is under stress, the mechanisms that are normally used to repair these misfolded proteins begin to malfunction. These malfunctions lead to accumulations of misfolded proteins in the cell and eventual diseases, such as ALS. This disease is a very sad disease. Symptoms of ALS are first muscle spasms, and eventually when so many motor neurons are lost, paralysis. People that develop ALS can take medications to help them feel better, or the one drug that is approved for the treatment of ALS. However, the one drug approved for treatment causes heavy liver damage, and cannot be taken for extended periods of time. This drug does not stop the disease from happening, but it does slow the progression. Once a person is diagnosed with ALS, it seems that they are faced with eventual death. ALS is a fatal disease that moves quickly, killing a person in approximately 3-5 years. Research needs to be done to further understand the mechanisms in which this disease affects the body so that further treatments can be developed as well as an eventual cure.
Alzheimer's Disease: the good, the bad, and The Big Mac
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that has been increasingly making its way to the forefront of devastating diseases in our society. It’s likely that many of us know someone who is affected by AD, yet the exact mechanisms are not well understood and there is no current effective cure. Alzheimer’s disease exhibits severe dementia as a result of the degradation of neurons and synapses in the brain. AD is a disease that not only harshly affects those who have the disease, but also those who are left to care for and look after those who have it.
The causes of AD are not entirely known. There are countless pathways that are thought to contribute to the eventual build up of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The amyloid plaques build ups of the beta amyloid protein and the tangles result from the build up of a wrongly phosphorylated tau protein. Pictured above is a comparison of a healthy human brain and a brain of an individual with severe AD. It is easy to see the damage done to neurons as a result of AD, and one can probably imagine the consequences of such neuronal damage.
So what do we do about this? Shouldn’t science was supposed to have an answer to these problems. Do we all just wait around our whole lives and hope that we don’t get Alzheimer’s and essentially lose our minds? It turns out that there are certain things we can do to help prevent it. In particular, our diets might be a good place to start.
To say that eating your vegetables will protect you from getting AD later in life would be a bit of a stretch. However, there are some significant ties between those who have unhealthy diets and those who develop Alzheimer’s. A primary result of consistently eating unhealthy food is obesity, which has been on the upshot as of late. In turn, many obese people develop insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes. This has a whole set of consequences in itself, but there have been distinct connections made between those who are insulin resistant and those who develop AD.
Could our diets really have an effect on our health to the extent of Alzheimer’s disease? I feel like we could all admit that we could eat a little better. Sometimes it’s just easier to grab McDonalds on the way home or eat a bag of chips in the car. Our society has a very “go-go-go” attitude about everything, including food. It’s also difficult to see the long term affects that eating a bag of Doritos every other day has on us until it’s basically too late. Personally, I would love to eat healthier food. However, I’m broke college student. When I go to the store it’s much easier to buy a frozen pizza than some organic sugar peas. I think it’s primarily a problem of our society, and our diets seem to play a much larger role in our overall health than we probably realize.
Fat Chance for Reversal: Is obesity a brain disease?
Obesity is without a doubt a prominent and growing concern in our society. To put it bluntly, our society kind of looks like it’s getting fatter and fatter by the day. Childhood obesity is at an all time high and the speculations as to why vary greatly. Is it our diet? Maybe our sedentary lifestyles? Too much time playing video games and not enough time out playing outside like they did in good old days? Regardless, obesity is a troublesome and unhealthy phenomenon.
We recently read a review article on obesity entitled “Is obesity a brain disease?” The title is interesting in itself. Typically, we think of an obese person as simply having a larger than normal body mass. Of being overweight. We maybe associate obesity with the development of type-II diabetes, but for the most part we associate obesity with external physical features and physiological functions. Or at least that’s how I perceived obesity before reading this paper. However, obesity can also cause severe neurological damage as well.
As it turns out, “overnutrition” (just a fancy word for eating too much) can lead to a variety of unfavorable outcomes in the brain. Overnutrition has been linked to structural and functional changes in the brain. I was extremely taken aback by the fact that your brain will actually start to shrink in size as you continue to acquire more and more body fat. That’s just really a downer. An individual with obesity will also develop abnormalities in metabolic control and balance, which can essentially worsen the conditions if it causes an individual to consume more. Obesity has also been linked to cognitive decline, disruptions in sleep patterns, and inflammation in the brain.
Upon learning this information, I was really surprised. It’s made me more conscious of what I’m eating and how my eating habits now will affect my health down the road. But obesity as a brain disease? Seriously? For me, that brings it to a whole new level. I would hope that this information would encourage people to recognize how beneficial it is to have a healthy diet and exercise. Obesity is something that we should all strive to avoid, and I believe it is something that can be prevented with proper awareness and care.
Endocannabinoid Signalling and Marijuana
Endocannabinoid signaling is the signaling that mediates the affects of cannabis (marijuana). The ethical question here is whether or not marijuana should be legalized as a medical treatment or not. Endocannabinoid signaling occurs throughout the body, and mediates many different types of functions in the body. When this signaling is active, it is known to increase appetite, improve memory, and induce sleep. So why not have marijuana legalized as a medical treatment? Marijuana stimulates the endocannabinoid system and can have all of these positive effects on the body. For example, someone who has had cancer and has lost a significant amount of weight. They are now cancer free and trying to recover. If the stimulation of endocannabinoid signaling can increase their appetite and help them gain weight, wouldn’t it be a good treatment? Medical marijuana can be used to treat all sorts of different diseases/ailments, but it should be legalized for the specific situations it would be helpful in. I know there is a lot of ethical questions surrounding the legalization of marijuana as a medical treatment, but wouldn’t it be helpful to have it legalized as a medical treatment for special cases?
What's the connection between Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease?
Parkinson’s disease is characterized by accumulations of the protein alpha-synuclein and the development of Lewy Bodies. The areas that these Lewy Bodies are found vary from person to person with Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson’s disease normally does not develop in younger people, and is most common in people over the age of 50. Diagnosis of Parkinson’s is mainly based upon symptoms exhibited by the patient, but rely also on various types of imaging of the brain. In late stages of Parkinson’s Disease, sometimes Alzheimer’s disease is developed. So what is the connection between Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease? Does Parkinson’s disease lead to Alzheimer’s Disease? Well, Alzheimer’s disease is also characterized by the accumulation of a protein, however it is a different protein called Tau Protein. This accumulated tau proteins lead to neurofibrillary tangles in the brain which cause the development of Alzheimer’s Disease. Is the only connection between the two diseases the accumulation of a protein in the brain? More research needs to be done on this matter. Parkinson’s disease does not have a known cause. If the direct cause of Parkinson’s disease becomes known, the connection between Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease will be one step closer to being determined.
Who knew dopamine had so many effects throughout the body?
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is normally found in the brain. It plays a large role in the body’s mechanisms for reward, motor control and motivation. Dopamine can also be given as a supplement to treat many different things. Dopamine has many effects throughout the body, including in the immune system, in the digestive system, and in the renal system. Because dopamine cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, dopamine given supplementally will not have any affect on the brain chemistry. A good example of dopamine as a treatment is in a person who does not produce enough dopamine in their kidneys. These people will generally have high blood pressure and reduced sodium excretion in the urine. If these people are supplemented with the correct dosage of dopamine, their blood pressure problems can be alleviated. Who knew dopamine had so many affects outside of the brain?
Bipolar Disorder – Why is there so much stigma about mental disorders?
Bipolar disorder is characterized as a mental illness in which a person exhibits episodes of mania followed by episodes of depression. Between those episodes, the person may also have a mixed version where mania and depression are exhibited at the same time. People with a more severe form of bipolar disorder may show signs of suicide during their depressive states and make impulsive decisions when they are in their manic state. Many people with bipolar disorder are misdiagnosed with schizophrenia because their symptoms are seen as psychotic. Mental illnesses have a heavy stigma in our society. Whether you are talking about eating disorders, depression, or any other mental illness, the stigma in our society just makes it more difficult for the person suffering with the mental illness to live their life and eventually recover. People need to have a better understanding about mental illnesses in general. Mental illnesses are not something that the person can control. It is very difficult for the person to change their (sometimes abnormal) behavior, and requires treatment and psychotherapy. If people had a better understanding of mental illnesses, they would not judge mentally ill people the way they do. Sometimes all the person needs is a little bit of understanding and someone kind to talk to. The stigma in our society should be changed for the better of everyone in the community.
Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome
Due to the fast-paced society we live in today, the types of food we eat now are different than what was eaten years ago. People no longer have to forage, hunt or grow their food anymore. Food is available to most people in America, and in an over-abundant supply. Because food is readily available in abundance, people tend to eat more than they need calorically. This over-abundance and availability of food makes America a country where over eating is common. The amount of fast-food restaurants that carry high-calorie food also adds to the problem of over-eating. Eating more than you need puts you at risk of becoming overweight and becoming obese. Once people become overweight, the bad cycle just keeps going. When you are overweight or obese, you are more prone to developing metabolic syndrome – categorized by having high blood pressure, high cholesterol and some developed resistance to glucose. Once metabolic syndrome is developed, they are said to be more at risk for cardiovascular diseases, stroke and diabetes. There is no known cure for obesity; all that can be done is modifications to lifestyle and diet of the overweight person. This makes treating obesity and metabolic syndrome difficult in our society – if people work full time, have a family, and have a lot going on in their life, it is going to be difficult for them to find time to exercise, buy and make healthy foods and get out of the bad cycle. We are still waiting for a drug to be developed that can help get peoples’ lives back on track. But as of now, the best thing to do is to take a couple things out of your life and make time to diet and exercise.
Consequences of Concussions – What happens if you get one in college?
Concussions are becoming more and more prevalent in our society. Our culture has a central focus on sports, and players and coaches are becoming more and more aware about the side effects and the dangers of concussions. When you think about sports and concussions, the first things that come to your mind are probably football, wrestling, or another high contact sport. What about college sports? What happens if a player in a college sport gets a concussion? Most schools do not have an academic plan for students that get a concussion. Do you take a semester off? If it happens at the beginning of the semester, do you drop all your classes (after you have paid your tuition already)? Symptoms of a concussion (dizziness, confusion, among many other things) make it very difficult and sometimes impossible to focus and go to school. Because there is no cure for a concussion, the treatments are simply to rest and try not to do anything to stimulating or stressful. This makes it nearly impossible to go to college following a concussion injury. I feel that colleges and universities across the country need to develop a universal plan for student-athletes that get a concussion while they are in school.
Lithium the Wonder Drug
There is always hope that someday we will discover a wonder drug that will cure very illness. Well after reading about lithium and bipolar disorder, I have to say, maybe we have been looking to hard. Naturally occurring Lithium, the 3rd element on the periodic table is actually a quite effect treatment for a lot of neurological diseases. Normally lithium is only prescribed for bipolar disorder as it helps control the mania episodes. The list of disorders is helps treat or prevent besides bipolar includes: Huntington’s, Alzheimers, Parkinson’s, ALS, MS, Schozophrenia, and even more. While these are a wide range of diseases, lithium only really affects 3 pathways. By inhibiting NMDA receptors and IP3, lithium prevents Calcium influx into cells and signaling to p38, JNK, and Calpain, which leads to apoptosis. This is why lithium in effective in preventing so many neurodegenerative diseases, it prevents excess apoptosis or cell death. This is also why it helps the mania associated with bipolar. Blocking NMDA receptors helps with glutamate excitotoxicity that causes bipolar. Lithium also inhibits GSK-3, which is important for both inducing apoptosis and preventing the transcription of a lot of neuroprotective proteins like BDNF. Lithium does this by interfering with the Akt/GSK complex that normally activates GSK and by promoting cAMP, which also inhibiting GSK.
Now you may be wondering, if Lithium is so helpful, why don’t we all take it as a supplement? Well that problem with lithium is that it has such a small therapeutic range. Lithium is typically prescribed for bipolar patients around 0.6 mEq/L- 1.2mEq/L. Toxicity occurs above 1.5 mEq/L and has been know to occur in therapeutic ranges. While mild intoxication leads to nausua, vomiting, and diarrhea, severe toxicity which occurs around 2.5 mEq/L, can lead to loss of consciousness, coma, or death. When you compare the dose prescribed to the amount that can lead to death, there isn’t really that much difference. The reason we use it for bipolar patients is because the benefits outweigh the risks. Actually, the majority of studies that found that it prevented the other diseases were conducted on bipolar patients who were prescribed lithium. It presents us with an interesting problem. We know lithium is helpful in preventing a lot of terrible neurological diseases, but we cant take it normally. Maybe someday we will find a way around the side effects and risks of lithium, but until then it remains an interesting ion we can utilize.