National Posture Institute News Story: Scientists find calcium is the initial trigger in our immune response to healing

For the first time scientists studying the cellular processes underlying the body's response to healing have revealed how a flash of calcium is the very first step in repairing damaged tissue. The findings, published in Current Biology, could lead to new therapies that speed up the healing process following injury or surgery.

Until recently, very little was known about how damaged tissue activates and attracts the first white blood cells to the wound — the first stage in the healing process. However, researchers from the University of Bristol's School of Biochemistry in collaboration with a team from the University of Bath, have shown that the very first trigger in this process is a flash of calcium which spreads like a wave back from the wound edge through gap junctions that connect all the cells.

This flash of calcium signal goes on to activate an enzyme known as DUOX that synthesises hydrogen peroxide, which, in turn, attracts the first white blood cells to the wound. This white blood cell invasion, which is initiated during our inflammatory responses, is needed to kill off invading microbes and stop the onset of septicaemia following tissue damage.

The findings indicate that the wound-induced calcium flash represents the earliest identified signal following wounding and might therefore orchestrate the rapid recruitment of immune cells.

To assess the impact of a reduced calcium flash upon the inflammatory response the team used Drosophila (fruit fly) embryos because they are translucent which makes it easy to image the inflammatory response and because of their simple genetics. The team found that blocking the calcium flash inhibited H2O2 release at the wound site leading to a reduction in the number of immune cells migrating to the wound.

Paul Martin, Professor of Cell Biology and an expert in wound healing at the University, said: "White blood cells are a little like 'Jeckyll and Hyde' in that they help us heal but are also the reason behind why we scar so we really need to know how they are regulated at wounds in order to learn how to control their behaviours for future therapeutic intervention."

Will Razzell, the lead PhD researcher on this study, added: "We are more than ever understanding the pathways that lead to immune cell attraction to wounds. As calcium represents the immediate inflammatory signal, we now have a good foundation to investigate this complicated process further."

We are happy to announce The American Kinesiotherapy Association (AKTA) has formed an Educational Partnership with the National Posture Institute (NPI). Educational discount opportunities are available for professional Registered Kinesiotherapists and current AKTA enrolled college students for the following:

NPI's Certificate Programs Certified Posture Specialist (COPSKT 2.3 CEUs) , Certified Resistance Training Professional, and Certified Goniometry Specialist)
NPI's Posture Workshops at College-University Campuses (COPSKT-0.7 CEUs)
NPI's Assessment/Educational Products and Career Advancement Programs

NPI Posture Analysis-Correction and Resistance Training CEC Workshops at College/University Campuses: NPI College-University Posture CEC Workshops

National Posture Institute Research Review: Novel Herbal Compound Offers Potential to Prevent and Treat Alzheimer’s Disease

Findings Published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience

Amsterdam, NL, February 15, 2013 – Administration of the active compound tetrahydroxystilbene glucoside (TSG) derived from the Chinese herbal medicine Polygonum multiflorum Thunb, reversed both overexpression of α-synuclein, a small protein found in the brain, and its accumulation using a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. These results, which may shed light on the neuropathology of AD and open up new avenues of treatment, are available in the current issue of Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience.

Aberrant accumulation of α-synuclein can form insoluble aggregates that have been implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Researchers have now found that overexpression of α-synuclein increases with age and have demonstrated that α-synuclein aggregates in the hippocampus of older mice compared to normal controls.

“Our results raise the possibility that TSG might be a novel compound for the treatment of AD and dementia with Lewy body,” says co-lead investigator Lan Zhang, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Key Laboratory for Neurodegenerative Diseases of Ministry of Education, Department of Pharmacology of Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University in Beijing.

The study used an animal model of AD: APPV717I transgenic (Tg) mice with the London mutation. In previous work, the authors showed that these mice show cognitive impairments beginning at 4 months of age and develop amyloid plaques in the brain that are evident by 10 months.

In one series of experiments, 4 month old Tg mice were divided into 3 groups and received daily intragastric administration of distilled water (controls), low dose TSG (120 µmol/kg/d), or high dose TSG (240 µmol/kg/d). A fourth group consisted of age-matched non-Tg controls. The mice were treated until 10 months of age. In a second series of experiments, 10-month-old mice were divided into similar control and TSG-treated groups and were treated for 6 months.

The authors used a variety of techniques to hone in on what was happening in the brains of the Tg mice compared to age-matched controls: cDNA microarray analysis, reverse transcription PCR, western blotting, and immunochemistry. They found that α-synuclein messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expression levels increase in a time-dependent manner in the hippocampus of Tg mice between ages 4 and 16 months and α-synuclein aggregation was noticeable at 16 months. Age-related increases in α-synuclein were also seen in the control mice but to a lesser degree.

“We suggest that, besides increased Aβ (beta-amyloid) and amyloid plaques, overexpression and aggregation of α-synuclein in the hippocampus might partially account for cognitive impairment in this Tg mouse model of AD,” comments co-lead investigator Lin Li, MD, PhD, Professor and Director, Department of Pharmacology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University in Beijing. She adds that “α-synuclein overexpression occurs even in the early phase of AD and may accelerate Aβ production and deposition, which further facilitates α-synuclein overexpression and accumulation.”

Analysis of the TSG-treated groups showed that TSG-treatment from the age of 4 to 10 months significantly downregulated α-synuclein mRNA and protein overexpression in the hippocampus of the Tg mice, and the effect was stronger at the higher dose. This suggests that TSG may have a role in preventing the neurotoxic effects of α-synuclein on synaptic function and cell activity. In addition, the finding that Tg reduced α-synuclein overexpression in older animals (>10 months) may indicate that it has therapeutic potential even after neuropathologic changes have occurred.

In previous work, the authors found that TSG acts as a “cognitive enhancer” to improve learning and memory in both APP transgenic mice and aged rats. The authors emphasize that while it is not completely clear how TSG works, their findings open up a new area of research. “The role of α-synuclein, especially in the early phase of AD, and its interaction with Aβ should be considered when developing new therapeutic strategies to target AD pathogenesis,” says Dr. Zhang.

NPI Posture Analysis-Correction and Resistance Training CEC Workshops at College/University Campuses: NPI College-University Posture CEC Workshops

National Posture Institute Research Review: UC research takes a new approach to identifying 'food deserts'

University of Cincinnati-led research takes a new direction in examining the availability of healthy foods for urban populations by examining the commuting patterns of its residents.

This new approach to identifying so-called food deserts, now published online, will appear in the May journal of Health and Place.

Neighborhoods without access to stores that provide healthy food options – such as fresh fruits and vegetables – are often labeled as food deserts. However, current methods for determining which neighborhoods have access to nutritious foods focus only on where residents' homes are located, and not where people move through the course of the day.

In an article led by Michael Widener, a UC assistant professor of geography, researchers calculated a new way to pinpoint food deserts by factoring the commuting patterns of residents.

Focusing their examination on Cincinnati and using transportation data from The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI), they found that residents in certain transportation analysis zones had better access to supermarkets, thanks to their commutes, compared with just factoring in locations of homes.

In other words, some people who reside in food deserts could still pick up healthy foods like fruits and vegetables on their way home from work, as their access to supermarkets increases because of their other daily travel plans.

The paper also points to an American Community Survey which found that 71 percent of workers 16 and older in Cincinnati are lone commuters to work. However, the current study did not identify whether commuters who resided in food deserts were actually purchasing the healthier foods carried by supermarkets.

Food deserts are often associated with low-income neighborhoods, which have been linked to a range of health problems, including increased risk of diabetes and stroke. However, the authors report that previous research has not produced a consistent link between access to healthy food and healthier residents.

The authors suggest that by using this new method of locating food deserts, new intervention strategies could be developed to encourage post-work trips for healthier food options.

"Given the daily movements of an urban population, this novel measure can provide new information to public and transportation policy makers seeking to understand the role spatial access to healthy food plays in population health," states the article.

The OKI data that was studied on the Cincinnati-proper region was from 2005, the most recent year available. Researchers used 2012 data to examine locations of national and regional grocery stores and supermarkets in comparison to Cincinnati neighborhoods. The study covered 359 transportation analysis zones in Cincinnati and approximately 158,000 automobile commuters.

Although the researchers focused on automobile commuters for this study, future research is under way in factoring populations taking public transportation.

NPI Posture Analysis-Correction and Resistance Training CEC Workshops at College/University Campuses: NPI College-University Posture CEC Workshops

University of Kentucky in scenic Lexington‚ KY will be hosting a 2-day Posture CEC workshop presented by Ken Baldwin and the National Posture Institute (NPI) on July 27-28, 2013. Early Bird Discounts are available by June 27, 2013. To Register: http://www.npionline.org/workshops/uk 

Continuing Education Credits/Units (CEC/CEU): http://www.npionline.org/approvedcec

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:
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Day-1 Description:

NPI’s Day-1 Workshop prepares personal trainers/exercise instructors, athletic trainers, and health/medical/fitness professionals to assess and educate their clients/patients in the analysis, assessment, and correction of posture and body alignment. The workshop prepares professionals to later complete NPI’s Certified Posture Specialist™ Certificate Program/Course and Examination to receive the CPS designation.


Day-2 Description:

NPI’s Day-2 Workshop prepares personal trainers/exercise instructors, athletic trainers, and health/medical/fitness professionals interested in learning a detailed process to teach, analyze, and perfect resistance training exercises/movements to correct their clients/patients posture. The workshop prepares professionals to later complete NPI’s Certified Resistance Training Professional™ Certificate Program/Course and Examination to receive the RTP designation.


Continuing Education Credits/Units (CEC/CEU): http://www.npionline.org/approvedcec