Memories, memories …

            NEW YORK - Columbia University Medical Center scientists restored successfully normal memory and synaptic function in mice with Alzheimer’s disease, Newswise disclosed The study was published online at the journal Cell. Scientists at Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain identified an enzyme required for normal cognition but is impaired in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s. They discovered mice regained the ability to form new memories when the enzyme’s function was elevated. The research suggests raising the function of ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (Uch-L1) may provide a promising strategy for battling Alzheimer’s, and perhaps reversing its effects. Scientists found the enzyme Uch-L1 is part of a molecular network that controls a memory molecule, CREB , which is inhibited by amyloid beta proteins in people with Alzheimer’s. By increasing Uch-L1 in mice with Alzheimer’s, they were able to improve the animals’ ability to create new memories. “Because the amyloid beta proteins that cause Alzheimer’s may play a normal, important physiological role in the body, we can’t destroy them as a therapy,” said Dr. Ottavio Arancio, assistant professor of pathology at Columbia University Medical Center and co-principal investigator of the study with Dr. Michael Shelanski, chairman of the Dept. of Pathology at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. “What makes this newly-discovered enzyme exciting as a potentially effective therapy is it restores memory without destroying amyloid beta proteins.”

            PITTSBRGH - Newswise disclosed even relatively small declines in kidney function after radiocontrast dye injection for x-rays can lead to a higher risk of death, states a study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. "Our study helps to identify early changes in kidney function that should alert clinicians to a potential problem with kidney function," says Dr. Steven D. Weisbord, of the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, lead author of the study. "This will help clinicians implement measures to prevent further loss of kidney function and avoid serious adverse events." He and colleagues analyzed data on nearly 11,500 patients who had a coronary angiography to evaluate possible heart disease. Radiocontrast dye is injected into the blood vessels so the coronary arteries will appear on x-rays. Changes in serum creatinine level, an indicator of kidney function, were evaluated before and after dye injection. (An increase indicates a drop in kidney function.) Patients who had even a small decrease in kidney function after dye injection were at significantly increased risk of death over the next 30 days. Patients with a 25-50% rise in serum creatinine in the days after dye injection had a 39% increase in mortality risk, after adjustment for other factors. In general, patients with larger increases in serum creatinine, and with greater decreases in kidney function, were at higher risk of death. Patients with larger increases in creatinine spent more time in the hospital.

            AUGUSTA , GA - If you ever wondered how a high fiber diet helps keep you “regular,” scientists may have the answer. Dr. Paul McNeil, cell biologist at the Medical College of Georgia and an author on a study 9in PloS Biology, says, “When you eat high fiber foods, they bang up against cells lining the gastrointestinal tract, rupturing their outer covering. We are saying this bang and tearing increases the level of lubricating mucus. It’s a good thing.” The fact that consuming roughage increases mucus production was known, and years ago, Dr. McNeil discovered frequent cell injury and repair occur when we eat. The new research ties the two together. “It’s a bit of a paradox, but an injury at the cell level can promote health of the GI tract as a whole,” says Dr. McNeil. Even though these cells usually live less than a week, they are regularly bombarded, in most of us at least three times a day as food passes by. “These cells are a biological boundary that separates the inside world, from this nasty outside world. On the cellular scale, roughage, such as grains and fibers that can’t be digested completely, are a mechanical challenge for these cells,” says Dr. McNeil. In what he and colleague Dr. Katsuya Miyake view as an adaptive response, most of these cells rapidly repair damage and excrete even more mucus, which provides a bit of cell protection as it eases food down the GI tract.

            FORT WORTH , TX - The Dallas Morning News noted Diane Corrigan knew son John was different but didn't know why. "Usually when it is a child's birthday they're excited,” she said, but she couldn't get her son to smile for pictures. “He didn't talk at his birthday party." She could tell when John was three he wasn’t responding. “It took us two years for him to say something to the Sunday school teacher." John is 11. He was diagnosed with “selective mutism.” Psychologist Mimi Wright says it’s a deep-seated fear of speaking. “It’s a physical reaction, and it’s like their throat won’t work,” she said. Dr. Wright has been treating John and several other children. "It is so important for everyone who comes in contact with the child to know the child isn’t doing this on purpose,” she cautioned. “It is an actual physical reaction to their anxiety." Seven out of 1,000 children have selective mutism. The cause is different in every child; sometimes symptoms are different, too. Dr. Wright said, in the past, children with the disorder may have been labeled “dumb” and often nothing was done to help. She said early intervention is key. John takes anti-depressants to reduce anxiety, and he’s undergone behavioral therapy. Both are common treatments. Corrigan has seen improvement, but she has seen John regress. She doesn’t push him to talk, but she does encourage him to be more sociable. At school, John is the boy who doesn’t talk, causing him to be a lightning rod for ridicule. John is bright, extremely bright. He is in his school’s gifted and talented program in school. It’s a start.