Taurine Supplementation for 48-Months Improved Glucose Tolerance and Changed ATP-Related Enzymes in Avians.

Avians differ from mammals, especially in brain architecture and metabolism. Taurine, an amino acid basic to metabolism and bioenergetics, has been shown to have remarkable effects on metabolic syndrome and ameliorating oxidative stress reactions across species. However, less is known regarding these metabolic relationships in the avian model. The present study serves as a preliminary report that examined how taurine might affect avian metabolism in an aged model system. Two groups of pigeons (Columba livia) of mixed sex, a control group and a group that received 48 months of taurine supplementation (0.05% w/v) in their drinking water, were compared by using blood panels drawn from their basilic vein by a licensed veterinarian. From the blood panel data, taurine treatment generated higher levels of three ATP-related enzymes: glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and creatine kinase (CK). In this preliminary study, the role that taurine treatment might play in the adult aged pigeon's metabolism on conserved traits such as augmenting insulin production as well as non-conserved traits maintaining high levels of ATP-related enzymes was examined. It was found that taurine treatment influenced the avian glucose metabolism similar to mammals but differentially effected avian ATP-related enzymes in a unique way (i.e., ∼×2 increase in CK and LDH with a nearly ×4 increase in GLDH). Notably, long-term supplementation with taurine had no negative effect on parameters of lipid and protein metabolism nor liver enzymes. The preliminary study suggests that avians may serve as a unique model system for investigating taurine metabolism across aging with long-term health implications (e.g., hyperinsulinemia). However, the suitability of using the model would require researchers to tightly control for age, sex, dietary intake, and exercise conditions as laboratory-housed avian present with very different metabolic panels than free-flight avians, and their metabolic profile may not correlate one-to-one with mammalian data.

Healthcare is not about health.

Initiatives designed to reduce the disease burden and improve the health of the US population that focus on increasing access to health care have been disappointing. Progress requires multifaceted change. We must first acknowledge that the healthcare system is focused on reversing or modifying disease, not enhancing health. Our conceptualization of the development of ill health and disease must also change. Scientific advances are clarifying the complex interactions among the development of ill health and disease and an individual's behaviors, their microbiota, and their physical, social, and emotional environments. A person's genetic makeup predisposes them to a wide array of disease conditions but is rarely deterministic in and of itself. Factors extrinsic to the individual, including the social determinants of health, play a major role in disease development, often decades later. The complexity of health and disease requires a "team" accountable for the health of our populations, and these teams must be expanded beyond the medical professions. Governmental officials, architects, business leaders, civic organizations, social and neighborhood groups are among the key stakeholders on the health side of the equation. If and when disease does become manifest, then the care part of the healthcare system assumes the larger role. This has major implications for the education of our clinically focused health science students, but also of professional disciplines previously deemed peripheral to health. Simply redoubling our efforts and focusing on our current healthcare system is insufficient to make progress in the health of the populace. One example of a multipronged approach in Allentown, PA is explored in depth.

Nest Carbon Dioxide Masks GABA-Dependent Seizure Susceptibility in the Naked Mole-Rat.

African naked mole-rats were likely the first mammals to evolve eusociality, and thus required adaptations to conserve energy and tolerate the low oxygen (O2) and high carbon dioxide (CO2) of a densely populated fossorial nest. As hypercapnia is known to suppress neuronal activity, we studied whether naked mole-rats might demonstrate energy savings in GABAergic inhibition. Using whole-colony behavioral monitoring of captive naked mole-rats, we found a durable nest, characterized by high CO2 levels, where all colony members spent the majority of their time. Analysis of the naked mole-rat genome revealed, uniquely among mammals, a histidine point variation in the neuronal potassium-chloride cotransporter 2 (KCC2). A histidine missense substitution mutation at this locus in the human ortholog of KCC2, found previously in patients with febrile seizures and epilepsy, has been demonstrated to diminish neuronal Cl- extrusion capacity, and thus impairs GABAergic inhibition. Seizures were observed, without pharmacological intervention, in adult naked mole-rats exposed to a simulated hyperthermic surface environment, causing systemic hypocapnic alkalosis. Consistent with the diminished function of KCC2, adult naked mole-rats demonstrate a reduced efficacy of inhibition that manifests as triggering of seizures at room temperature by the GABAA receptor (GABAAR) positive allosteric modulator diazepam. These seizures are blocked in the presence of nest-like levels of CO2 and likely to be mediated through GABAAR activity, based on in vitro recordings. Thus, altered GABAergic inhibition adds to a growing list of adaptations in the naked mole-rat and provides a plausible proximate mechanism for nesting behavior, where a return to the colony nest restores GABA-mediated inhibition.

The effects of low dose MK-801 administration on NMDAR dependent executive functions in pigeons.

An avian analogue of human fronto-executive dysfunction was used to study the long-term effects of a repeated low dose of MK-801. MK-801 is known to selectively antagonize the excitatory N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) and indirectly impair inhibitory related processes (GABA-AR). First, eight pigeons were divided into two groups, receiving either 0.15mg/kg MK-801 or saline (i.p.) 1-hour prior to each session. Thirty 90-min sessions of a Differential Reinforcement of Low Rate of Response (DRL-10s) schedule were run over 3-months. Both overall number of responses and efficiency were unaffected by treatment, establishing a sub-threshold motoric dose. Then, another eight pigeons, treated identically, were given an operant visual discrimination task. Results demonstrated impairment of the fronto-striatal function of both excitatory and inhibitory processes in the MK-801 group during the entire 3-months. A 30-session treatment cross-over showed that the Saline-to-MK-801 group was unaffected, whereas the MK-801-to-Saline group exhibited rapid recovery of inhibitory control, however excitatory control did not fully recover. Together, these results suggested that the NMDAR system is involved in the acquisition of excitatory learning, but only in the expression of inhibitory learning. Our findings were discussed in terms of the value of avian models in translational research. Furthermore, our results were examined within the context of the NIH Research Domain of Criteria initiative and the role of NMDAR disruption, which underlie executive dysfunction in various neuropsychiatric disorders. Finally, our findings suggested that the potential long-term effects of the clinical and recreational use of NMDAR antagonists require further study.

Engaging underserved populations in Affordable Care Act-required needs assessments.

This article presents information on an Affordable Care Act-mandated community health needs assessment process, which brought four hospitals and a foundation in Pennsylvania together to imbue the assessment with community contributions. Community health needs assessments that engage underserved communities can be powerful symbols of hospitals' interest in and commitment to finding solutions.

The value of mindfulness-based methods in teaching at a clinical field placement.

The value of mindfulness-based methods in an undergraduate field placement was investigated in relation to the acquisition of self-care and other basic clinical competencies. The participants were 22 students in an applied behavioral analysis course, which included a mindfulness-based training module, and 20 students enrolled in an experimental psychology course without mindfulness training. The Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale, the Freiberg Mindfulness Inventory, and the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills were used as measurements before and after intervention. Mindfulness-trained participants kept records and were asked to share their personal experiences during supervision and an exit interview. Results demonstrated that training significantly increased mindfulness. Qualitative data indicated enhanced self-care, attention to well-being, self-awareness, active involvement acquiring skills, and empathy and compassion. The need to expand the utility of mindfulness to the realm of education and the importance of including comparison groups with other self-care modules for future studies were discussed.

Functional implication of taurine in aging.

Age-related impairment of central functions is though to result from alterations of neurochemical indices of synaptic function. These neurochemical modifications involve structural proteins, neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and related receptors. Several studies demonstrated that GABA receptors, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65&67), and different subpopulations of GABAergic neurons are markedly decreased in experimental animal brains during aging. Thus, the age-related decline in cognitive functions could be attributable, at least in part, to decrements in the function of the GABAergic inhibitory neurotransmitter system. In this study we show that chronic supplementation of taurine to aged mice significantly ameliorated the age-dependent decline in memory acquisition and retention, and caused alterations in the GABAergic system. These changes include increased levels of the neurotransmitters GABA and glutamate, increased expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase and the neuropeptide somatostatin and increased in the number of somatostatin-positive neurons. These specific alterations of the inhibitory system caused by taurine treatment oppose those naturally-occurring during aging, and suggest a protective role of taurine in this process. Increased understanding of age-related neurochemical changes in the GABAergic system will be important in elucidating the underpinnings of the functional changes of aging. Taurine might help forestall the age-related decline in cognitive functions through interaction with the GABAergic system.