Life Lines - The Podcast of The American Physiological Society - Episode 20: Celiac Research Update

Episode 20: Celiac Research Update

04/06/09 • 11 min

Life Lines - The Podcast of The American Physiological Society

Celiac Update. Celiac disease is an uncontrolled immune response to wheat gluten and similar proteins of rye and barley. In those who have celiac disease, gluten can damage the small intestine, inhibit nutritional uptake and lead to malnutrition. Among the symptoms are diarrhea, stomach pain, fatigue, weight loss and slow growth. One study estimated that 1 in 133 people in the U.S. population have celiac disease. Many people do not know they have it, sometimes because there are no symptoms. Because celiac disease has a genetic component, there can be a much higher prevalence of the disease within families.Three years ago, a group of Dutch researchers led by Frits Koning of the Leiden University Medical Center published a study on an enzyme that showed promise as a treatment for celiac disease. The enzyme, prolyl endoprotease, or PEP, could quickly break down gluten in the stomach before it ever reached the small intestine, where it causes damage. In this episode, we ask Frits Koning to update us on his research. (Begins at 2:45)Total Time: 11:20

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Episode 19: The Genetics of Exercise

Have you ever had an experience like this: You and a friend start jogging together. Neither of you have been exercising much, but after a few days, your friend is easily striding along as you wheeze, gasp and hold onto your aching side. Do not feel bad about your performance; it may be your genes.Scientists have identified about 200 genes that play a role in our body's ability to become fitter, referred to as "adaptation to exercise." In this episode, we talk to Mark Olfert of the University of California at San Diego and Claude Bouchard of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. They have organized a symposium on the genetics of adaptation to exercise, to take place at the Experimental Biology conference in New Orleans in April. They will give us a flavor for the research in this field by telling us a bit about their own work. (Begins at 3:51)In the Buzz in Physiology (Begins at 1:21) University of Illinois researchers are developing a program to train people to avoid falls. This research could be particularly valuable for the elderly, for whom falling can be an especially dangerous proposition. And a study from the University College London Medical School sheds light on why patients with cirrhosis may have a more regular heart rhythm than is normal, and why they develop hepatic encephalopathy, a neurological disorder. The body's inflammatory response may be the common thread behind the development of these conditions.

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Episode 21: Blood Pressure and the Brain

Did you know that there is a sensor in the nerve endings in the carotid artery that rapidly lowers blood pressure when stimulated? This discovery may one day allow people who are hypertensive to lower their blood pressure by using a pacemaker-like device that stimulates the nerve endings in the blood vessels.In this edition of Life Lines, we talk to Francois Abboud, of the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa whose research identified this sensor. We’ll also talk to him about his recent research looking at the genes that regulate ion channels, microscopic gates that move chemicals in and out of cells, and that play a role in the signaling between the brain and the blood vessels. In experiments with animals, Dr. Abboud and his colleagues deleted one specific ion channel and found that the animals developed high blood pressure. (Begins at 03:51)We'll also talk to Ann M. Schreihofer, of the Medical College of Georgia, who focuses on the role the brain plays in increasing sympathetic nervous activity, which contributes to many forms of hypertension (high blood pressure). Among the questions her research seeks to answer is why people who are obese become hypertensive. The Schreihofer laboratory has also been looking at sleep apnea and whether it is possible to improve respiratory function as a way to reduce the sympathetic activity that leads to obesity and hypertension. (Begins at 09:43)In the Buzz in Physiology (begins at 1:24), we have studies on:

The photo in our logo is a neuron from the rostral ventral lateral medulla of the brain stem and was provided by Dr. Schreihofer.Total running time: 16:45.