Futurity.org » neurotoxins

Gas exposed Cleveland kids to toxic lead

Mary Gerity-Case Western — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:28:51 +0000

CASE WESTERN (US) — More than half the toxic lead that African-American children in Cleveland ingested or inhaled during the last century came from leaded gasoline.

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University say the findings related to Cleveland probably apply to many cities across the United States and reinforce concerns about the health threat for children in countries still using leaded gasoline. Findings are reported in Science of the Total Environment.

Brain may use clot-buster to fend off stroke

Quinn Eastmann-Emory — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:52:28 +0000

EMORY (US)—New research on the properties of the clot-busting stroke drug tPA suggests that it can act as a neuroprotectant and may form the keystone of an adaptive response to a reduction in blood flow.

Scientists from Emory University School of Medicine have shown that certain parts of the brains of mice lacking the gene for tPA (tissue-type plasminogen activator) are more vulnerable to stroke. In addition, tPA can protect neurons in the same part of the brain from the stress of hypoxia (low oxygen).

Arctic snow reveals mercury’s ‘fingerprint’

Nancy Ross-Flanigan-Michigan — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:40:35 +0000

In the Arctic, mercury remains in its benign gaseous form through the dark winter, because there’s no sunlight to drive oxidation and little bromine to catalyze the process. But in polar springtime, that all changes. As sea ice breaks up, water vapor rises in great clouds through the openings in the ice, bringing with it bromine from the sea water. (Courtesy: iStockphoto)

U. MICHIGAN (US)—Mercury deposited onto Arctic snow from the atmosphere takes on a life of its own as it is picked up by microorganisms that then build up in fish and animals that eat them.

“When released into the atmosphere in its reduced form, mercury is not very reactive,” explains Joel Blum the John D. MacArthur Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Michigan.

Monkeys as guard dogs against lead

Leila Gray-UW — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:54:08 +0000

In Thailand, a longtail macaque sits in a garbage can to finish a snack scrounged from the trash. When macaques live in environments polluted by motor vehicles, openly disposed garbage, and industrial waste, they can come into contact with toxic substances such as lead, just as their human neighbors might. (Credit: Nantiya Aggimarangsee)

U. WASHINGTON—Because Asian monkeys share the same ecological niche as humans, researchers believe they might play a significant role in determining exposure to lead.

In parts of South and Southeast Asia, macaques and people are synanthropic, which means they drink from identical water sources, breathe the same air, share food sources, and play on the same ground.

BEST OF 2009: Parkinson’s dopamine killers

Dan Kuester-Iowa State — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:39:34 +0000

Anumantha Kanthasamy has been working to understand the complex mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease for more than a decade and thinks he has discovered a critical pathway that might lead to a cure.

IOWA STATE (US)—Researchers have found an essential key that could lead to new treatments and possibly a cure for Parkinson’s disease. They have identified the protein that kills dopamine-producing cells in the brain—and a way to disable it.

Parkinson’s disease sufferers lack a sufficient amount of dopamine. Anumantha Kanthasamy, a distinguished professor of biomedical sciences and W. Eugene and Linda R. Lloyd Endowed Chair in Neurotoxicology at Iowa State University, discovered that a novel protein—known as protein kinase-C—destroys dopamine-producing cells.

Olive oil compound may fight Alzheimer’s

Futurity-Jenny Leonard — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:18:48 +0000

A neuron (red) is bound with neurotoxins, known as ADDLs (green). The bright green signal is the result of oleocanthal treatment, which enhances antibody detection of ADDLs.

NORTHWESTERN (US)—A new study has found that oleocanthal, a naturally occurring compound found in extra-virgin olive oil, beneficially alters the structure of neurotoxic proteins believed to contribute to the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

The structural change impedes the ability of highly toxic proteins known as ADDLs to damage brain nerve cells. This effect of oleocanthal could be used to advantage in new therapeutics and diagnostics.