ALS is a neurological disorder where a degradation of motor neurons occurs. This progresses over the course of 3-5 years leading to complete muscle loss in vital organs. In the early stages of the disease the patient experiences muscle weakness, stiffness, spastic and tightness, poor balance, slurred words, and can be limited to a single body region. In middle stage of the disease symptoms become more wide spread, some muscles become paralyzed, joint pain, weakness in swallowing, and weakness in breathing. The late stages of the disease present them self in the form of voluntary muscles are paralyzed, the ability to move air in and out of lungs, limited mobility, may no longer be able to speak, and eating/drinking no longer possible. With such a progressive disease one would hope that we would know what causes it.
Sadly, in short the answer is we don’t know a direct cause. 5-10% of ALS patients develop due to genetic traits that have been passed down through family lines. 90-95% has a form of ALS called sporadic ALS. This form of ALS still has no unknown direct cause or causes. The research done on this disease has fallen short of finding any link to environmental factor which could be causing it. Researchers have speculated a few ideas to what may be the cause of it though. Some believe it could be caused by heavy metals like lead and mercury which have been linked to having neurological effects. They also believe it could be organic solvents, many of which have been linked to cancers. The findings, however, are mixed which leaves us with no conclusions. They also think warfare may be the cause of it. Reports say that people who went to war are 1.5-2.0 times more likely to get ALS then those who never went to war. However, the numbers of people tested are too small which leaves most to believe that this might be just a statistical anomaly. Some think ALS could be caused by some kind of unknown virus. There is no evidence for this claim; however, they base their hypothesis off the Polo virus. Finally, and my personal favorite speculation on the cause of the disease comes from a person’s diet. They think that the combinations of foods a person specifically eats could cause it. There is a little island called Guam where the ALS population is extremely high. They think this is due to their diet of whole bats cooked in coconut milk. All in all as of right now no research has come up with any specific cause or causes that are responsible for ALS.
Small changes now… Big consequences later…
We have always been told by our parents to make sure we choose food from all of the food groups, so that we can ensure we are receiving all of the proper vitamins and minerals that we need to function. We receive iron through a variety of food sources, including red meat, leafy greens, and several other sources. The side of the story we don’t often consider, however, is what happens when we get too much of any of these nutrients, and especially what happens if it accumulates in any one spot in the body.
Recently our class discussed an article which dealt with the consequences of iron accumulation in the brain, and learned that this can contribute to the development of Parkinson’s disease. The iron accumulation will allow things called reactive oxygen species to form, and something called alpha-synuclein to conglomerate in one area. Together, these will cause the neurons in this area of the brain (the substantia nigra) to be destroyed, resulting in Parkinson’s disease. The paper discussed several ways that the iron will start to accumulate, and in doing so, pointed to different things we can try to target to prevent Parkinson’s disease. These included using iron chelators, which will remove iron from the brain, as well as antioxidants to prevent the formation of reactive oxygen species.
In correlation with our paper, we all sat down and had green tea during class one day, which as you might know, can be an antioxidant. This simple practice made me start thinking about how much of a difference simple changes like this can make in our lives. I feel like we don’t often think about it, but the little changes like having a cup of tea during the day can better our lives greatly in the long run. This isn’t to say that drinking a cup of green tea on a regular basis will completely eliminate any chance that you will ever have Parkinson’s disease, but it can definitely go a long way towards lowering your risk of developing it.
These types of changes don’t only apply to Parkinson’s disease either. Green tea can be good for you in general, as can just generally eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. The same caveat must be stated, as there are very few behaviors that will completely eliminate any risk of developing diseases x, y, and z, but any reduction of risk must be very seriously considered. A healthy diet and habits of good and regular exercise can reduce your risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and a plethora of other diseases. Even if we cannot fully prevent these, one must also consider that one lifestyle change can prevent a myriad of diseases. It seems somewhat counterintuitive that we spend so much time pursuing a “better life” with things like more success and more money, yet we don’t take the steps to enjoy a longer and fuller life to enjoy the truly valuable things like spending more time with friends and family by making simple changes like eating a salad instead of a Big Mac or going for a run instead of watching a movie, or in the case of Parkinson’s disease, taking time to enjoy a cup of green tea in the afternoon.
A Reflection on my Capstone Experience
Throughout my three and a half years at Concordia College, one aspect I have really enjoyed is the liberal learning that students are required to experience. Being a chemistry major and being required to take a set number of chemistry classes, it has been nice to take classes in other disciplines, such as religion, history, sociology, psychology, business, and math. Another aspect of Concordia’s core curriculum is the capstone course that students are required to take either their junior or senior year. The Capstone Course of the core curriculum focuses on student achievement of the goals for liberal learning, and emphasizes writing intensity and experiential learning. The Capstone Course allows students to exercise Concordia’s motto, BREW, which means to become responsibly engaged in the world.
As a senior at Concordia, I decided to take another chemistry class, neurochemistry, to fulfill my credits for the capstone course requirement. During registration, I was a little hesitant signing up for this course because I had little previous knowledge of the brain and the chemical aspects of it. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the majority of the students were experiencing this same feeling, so we all basically had the same initial understanding of the course content. I have always been interested in the chemical pathways of the brain, so I was really excited to explore a new discipline within the field of chemistry. Throughout the semester, I learned significantly more than I had expected to, despite the way in which this class was organized and facilitated.
Neurochemistry was very different from other chemistry classes and typical science classes regarding the way in which it was taught, which was a very nice change of pace. In contrast to typical science classes that are primarily lecture based, neurochemistry was discussion based where the majority of our learning came from communicating and interacting with other students in the class and also our professor. The first part of the semester consisted of learning about various different topics, such as neurotransmitter signaling, receptor types, essential ions and minerals, and many more. To learn about these topics, we primarily read literature articles and answered various questions about the article. The majority of our time was spent talking with other students about the article and trying to figure anything that we understand out.
After obtaining this basic knowledge of various neurochemical topics, we transitioned into the bulk of this class, which included an overview session, a background review session, and a discussion session. The overview session occurred on Mondays and consisted of reading an article and answering questions about the particular topic of the week. During class, we would then discuss the article and anything we didn’t understand. At the end of class, each student was assigned a topic to research and become an expert on. Wednesday was our background review session, which consisted of presenting our particular topic to students throughout the class in order to help them understand our topics better. Our discussion sessions occurred on Fridays, and throughout the semester, it became my favorite aspect of the class. Two to three students led each discussion in which we would discuss and talk about anything we felt was important in the paper. This was my favorite part of the course because it allowed everyone to bring their expertise together and contribute to the learning of others in a relaxed setting. It enabled us to get out of the classroom setting and utilize a different strategy to learning. We had the opportunity to be a discussion leader twice throughout the semester, so my leadership skills were significantly increased through our discussion sessions. These discussion questions really simulated what a science career really consists of. As a scientist, it will be essential for me to be able to communicate information effectively to my colleagues, which is essentially what was done in these discussions.
Overall, I have really enjoyed taking neurochemistry and feel that it achieved the goals of a liberal education and allowed us to become responsibly engaged in the world. It was nice to take a science class in which the learning wasn’t solely based on listening to a lecture. It was fun teaching other students in the class about various topics. Likewise, it was also fun learning from classmates about many different topics. I am glad I decided to take neurochemistry as my capstone course at Concordia.
What is Autism Anyway?
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.