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AVMA Reaffirms Commitment To Host Pike Place Fish Market Educational Program
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) announced that it is moving forward with its original plan to host an educational, team-building program by the Pike Place Fish Market"s world-renowned fishmongers at its annual convention, which will be held in Seattle, Wash., July 11-July 14.
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Global Poverty Eradication Efforts Should Start With Health Issues, Opinion Piece Says
"Eradicating global poverty starts with the health of the world"s poor," Bill Frist, former U.S. Senate Majority leader and currently a member of the Millennium Challenge Corporation"s (MCC) Board of Directors, writes in a Charlotte Observer opinion piece. "It starts with empowering them physically to contribute to the vitality of their countries," Frist says, which "makes as much good sense for the world"s poor as for our collective international economic growth."Frist says that Obama"s recent proposal of a six-year $63 billion global health initiative is "bold," and the "smart use of res improves the health of the world"s poorest and strengthens the global economic climate for us all." He writes that it"s important not to overlook "other factors that directly affect global health," such as roads and water and sanitation systems. He points to the U.S. government"s Millennium Challenge Corporation, which "takes a holistic approach to global health, laying the groundwork for poverty reduction and economic development.""By building healthier, hopeful, and productive communities, we build safer and more secure societies that can alleviate global poverty and contribute to global prosperity," Frist writes. "When communities are productive and thriving they don"t become breeding grounds for dangerous extremism" (Frist, Charlotte Observer, 5/14).
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Expert Researchers To Discuss Neutropenia, Recent Research
The National Neutropenia Network (NNN) and the Severe Chronic Neutropenia International Registry (SCNIR) will host the 9th Annual Neutropenia Family Conference in Ann Arbor, Mich., on July 24-26, at the Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest.
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Identifiication Of Enzyme That Makes Survival Molecule For Key Vision Cells

Research lead by Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Boyd Professor and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, identifying an enzyme that makes neuroprotectin D1 which specifically and selectively protects retinal cells key for vision, was published in the June 26, 2009 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Dr. Bazan"s research team previously discovered neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1), a naturally produced chemical messenger that protects cells from injury caused by free radicals and other oxidative stress. Neuroprotectin D1 is derived from the omega-3 fatty acid, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) which is present in both brain and retinal cells. Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells are essential for the survival of rod and cone photoreceptor cells. RPE cells regulate the renewal of the tips of photoreceptor cells among other functions. When RPE cells do not function properly, photoreceptor cells are damaged and can die, leading to decreased vision and eventual blindness as in such conditions as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. A number of stressors, including free radicals, damage RPE cells. Dr. Bazan"s lab has shown that RPE cells produce NPD1 in response to oxidative stress. The focus of this research project was to further define that process. The LSUHSC team"s main participant was Jorgelina Calandria, a PhD student in the LSUHSC Neuroscience Center Graduate Program working with Dr. Bazan, along with Pranab Mukherjee, PhD, Research Assistant Professor. Calandria developed a stable cell line to explore the role of an enzyme called 15-LOX-1 that they believed might play a key role in the process of converting DHA into NPD1. They designed a series of experiments using cells with, and those deficient in, 15-LOX-1, and measured response to oxidative stress. They found that the cells deficient in 15-LOX-1 were more vulnerable and susceptible to cell death and that NPD1 production in those cells was also diminished, demonstrating that 15-LOX-1 is key to the production of NPD1. The team also conducted experiments where retinal cells deficient in 15-LOX-1 were treated with NPD1. NPD1 was able to selectively and successfully rescue them, demonstrating the protective power of NPD1 in RPE cells. "These studies have created a new interest in RPE cells not only due to the potential applications in the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases, but also in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson"s disease," notes Dr. Bazan. "This research has helped us define NPD1 survival bioactivity in the RPE cell. It is clinically significant because it underpins the exploration of therapeutic interventions for diseases affecting millions." According to Research to Prevent Blindness, an estimated 1.75 million Americans over age 40 have decreased vision from Age-related Macular Degeneration. That number is expected to increase to 3 million by 2020. The National Institutes of Health estimates that at least 500,000 people in the US currently have Parkinson"s disease, although some estimates are much higher. The risk of Parkinson"s disease increases with age, so the impact of this disease is expected to increase as the population ages. The research, which included collaboration by scientists at the University of Southern California, was supported by grants from the National Eye Institute and the National Center for Research Res. Leslie Capo Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center


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