Brain Awareness Week, March 14 - 20MUSC researchers combat brain disordersby Michael BakerPublic Relations Brain or spinal cord damage currently limits the physical and mental capabilities of nearly 50 million Americans. The statistic comes from the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and the Society for Neuroscience, encapsulating the importance of Brain Awareness Week at MUSC. From March 14 through 20, the university will join 1,500 organization in 55 countries to celebrate the progress of brain research. Because of the ease with which a healthy brain seems to work, many people don’t consider the complexity of neurological care. But ignorance can be dangerous. Mark S. Kindy, Ph.D., interim director of MUSC’s Neuroscience Institute, explained the need for Brain Awareness Week. “Many people don’t understand the impact of disabilities on the brain,” he said. “The severity and incidence of neurological problems is much greater than we realize, especially in South Carolina.” The proof lies in the statistics. The percentage of stroke victims in South Carolina, relative to the state's total population, is higher than any other state. And the situation remains constant, year after year. “We have the misfortune of sitting in the middle of the South’s stroke and cardiovascular disease belt,” Kindy said. “Statistically, we’re the belt buckle.” However, he added that MUSC has a very good group of researchers studying stroke. Basic science researchers are working to understand the mechanisms of stroke—how and why it happens—and clinical researchers hope to use their counterparts’ results to develop a program for patient care. With regards to the public sector, Kindy asserted that people need to devote as much attention to the brain as to the heart. “The National and American heart associations have done a great job creating awareness of the signs and symptoms of heart problems,” he said, “and we need to promote that same sense of awareness when it comes to stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and other neurological issues.” Recently, the Center on Aging and the Department of Physiology and Neuroscience submitted a grant proposal to the National Institutes of Health, offering to establish an Alzheimer’s research center at the university. A successful bid would add MUSC to the short list of approximately 20 such centers in the nation. Backing up its ambition with tangible research, the group studies cholesterol’s role in the initiation and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, it looks at whether or not high rates of cholesterol speed up the disease’s progression. Indirectly supporting the group’s hypothesis, some studies have shown that patients who take Lipitor (a cholesterol-lowering drug) have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s than patients with high, unregulated cholesterol rates. The group also studies the biochemical mechanisms of Alzheimer’s with respect to South Carolina’s African-American population, a demographic that experiences a higher risk of the disease than other populations in the state. Other researchers at MUSC tackle another neurological problem, Parkinson’s disease. Through extensive basic science research, they investigate ways to counteract the muscular tremors associated with the disease “One of the most phenomenal things our researchers have done involves deep brain stimulation,” Kindy said. “By placing and stimulating electrodes within the affected regions of the brain, doctors often can stop a patient’s tremors.” Ken Bergmann, M.D., director of the Murray Center for Research on Parkinson’s Disease and Related Disorders, has studies ongoing to investigate the fundamental issues of disease mechanism in Parkinson’s disease and is working with several biotechnology companies. Lotta Granholm, DDS, Ph.D., director of the Center on Aging, conducts basic science research on the disease, using animal models to determine the effectiveness of dopamine-replacing drugs in regions of the brain where dopamine-producing cells have died. Finally, MUSC researchers study spinal cord injuries, which many people often forget fall within the realm of the brain’s functions. As part of its research, the university organizes the South Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund, a financial support system for grant-seeking researchers. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the fund is its source of income. According to Kindy, whenever a driver in South Carolina receives a ticket
for driving under the influence, the citation comes with a $100 surcharge.
The money goes directly to the fund, and it really adds up.
In this way, MUSC uses a risk factor of spinal cord injuries to support preventative and rehabilitative research. Although awareness comes from within the brain, many people are so focused on the world around them that they forget to pay attention to the source. Together, MUSC’s neurological research and Brain Awareness Week serve to remind the public of the importance of the brain. For additional information on Brain Awareness Week, the brain, and brain disorders, visit any of the following Web sites: http://www.musc.edu/neuroscienceinstitute, http://www.sfn.org or http://www.dana.org/brainweek. Researchers related to brain awareness
Alzheimer’s disease: David Bachman, M.D.; Lotta Granholm, Ph.D.; Kindy; Mintzer; and Kumar Sambamurti, Ph.D. Parkinson’s disease: Ken Bergmann, M.D.; Granholm; Vanessa Hinson, M.D.; and Istvan Takacs, M.D. Spinal cord injuries: Naren Banik, Ph.D.; Kindy; Jacqueline McGinty, Ph.D.; and William Tyor, Ph.D. Friday, March 12, 2004
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