[net-gold] MEDICAL INJURIES SPINAL : MEDICAL: TREATMENT: Researchers Discover how Folate Promotes Healing in Spinal Cord Injuries
- From: "David P. Dillard" <jwne@xxxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 21:54:12 -0400 (EDT)
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MEDICAL INJURIES SPINAL :
MEDICAL: TREATMENT:
Researchers Discover how Folate Promotes Healing in Spinal Cord Injuries
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:57:08 -0400
From: "NIH OLIB (NIH/OD)" <olib@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: NIHPRESS@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Researchers Discover how Folate Promotes Healing
in Spinal Cord Injuries
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News
Eunice Kennedy Shriver
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/
For Immediate Release: Thursday, June 24, 2010
CONTACT:
Robert Bock
or
Marianne Glass Miller
301-496-5133
e-mail:
bockr@xxxxxxxxxxxx
RESEARCHERS DISCOVER HOW FOLATE PROMOTES HEALING IN SPINAL CORD INJURIES
NIH Funded Study Deciphers Chemical Sequence of Nerve Regeneration in Rats
The vitamin folate appears to promote healing in damaged rat spinal cord
tissue by triggering a change in DNA, according to a laboratory study
funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The researchers showed that the healing effects of the vitamin increased
with the dosage, until regrowth of the damaged tissue reached a maximum
level. After this threshold was reached, regrowth declined progressively
with increasing doses until it reached the level seen in the absence of
the vitamin.
Specifically, folate stimulated a process known as DNA methylation, a
natural biochemical process in which chemical compounds known as methyl
groups are attached to DNA. The study results suggest that a greater
understanding of the chemical sequences associated with folate metabolism
and DNA methylation may lead to new techniques to promote healing of
damaged spinal cords and other nervous system injuries.
The research is at an early stage and additional studies are needed to
determine what role folate might play in the treatment of human beings
with spinal cord injury. Information about folate in human nutrition,
including dietary sources of the vitamin and appropriate daily intake is
available from the folate fact sheet
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/folate.asp
of the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/folate.asp
The research was supported by the NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of
Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Dental and
Craniofacial Research, and National Institute of Neurological Disorders
and Stroke. The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical
Investigation.
The addition of methyl groups to alter the functioning of DNA is part of
the relatively new field of epigenetics-changing the functioning of DNA
without changing the composition of genes. Initially, the only known way
a gene's functioning changed was through mutation, a chemical change to
the gene itself, explained Bermans J. Iskandar, of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison.
"The ability to change gene function through DNA methylation suggests
exciting new prospects for understanding the origins of disease and for
developing new treatments," Dr. Iskandar said. "Our study showed that
folate, a commonly available dietary supplement known to change gene
functioning, did so in a way that fosters nervous system repair."
Nearly 11,000 Americans experience a spinal cord injury each year
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/scifacts.htm
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The effects
of spinal cord injury vary with the extent of the injury, with severe
injuries resulting in complete paralysis below the injury site.
Folate, a B vitamin, occurs naturally in leafy green vegetables and other
foods. The synthetic form, folic acid, is used to supplement cereal
grains in the United States. The vitamin is important for the formation
of the brain and spinal cord in the early embryo. The U. S. Public Health
Service recommends
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/preconception_care.cfm
that all women of childbearing age consume 400 micrograms of folic acid
each day to reduce their risk of having a child with a neural tube defect
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/preconception_care.cfm
a birth defect of the brain and spinal cord.
Because of folate's role in fetal spinal cord development, the researchers
sought to determine if the vitamin could promote healing in damaged adult
nervous system tissue. In a previous study, the researchers showed that
folate could enhance the regrowth of axons, or nerve fibers, in rats with
spinal cord injuries.
In the current study, they measured folate's effects at various doses.
They found that as the dose increased, so did the amount of axon regrowth.
"Interestingly, the more folate we gave, the more regrowth we saw,
eventually achieving almost a tenfold increase in axonal regeneration,"
Dr. Iskandar said. Beyond the peak dose of 80 micrograms per kilogram of
body weight, the effect decreased but without causing toxicity or nerve
damage.
To understand how folate helps repair damaged axons, the researchers
undertook additional observations. They found that injured nerve tissue
began producing surface receptors for folate. Folate fits into the
receptors, like a key fits into a lock, and then is absorbed into the
nerve cell. After folate was absorbed into injured nervous system tissue,
the nerve cells began producing enzymes that attach methyl groups to DNA.
Chemically blocking folate from binding to the nerve cells, or blocking
the methylation enzymes, hindered the nerve healing process.
"Injuring the spinal cord seems to enhance its ability to receive folate
in its cells," Dr. Iskandar said.
The researchers also tested the methylation of spinal cord DNA at various
doses of folate and found that, like the regrowth of axons, DNA
methylation peaked at a dose of 80 micrograms folate per kilogram of body
weight.
The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth;
maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population
issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the
Institute's Web site at
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- The Nation's Medical Research
Agency -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal
agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational
medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures
for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its
programs, visit
http://www.nih.gov
##
This NIH News Release is available online at:
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2010/nichd-24.htm
Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
jwne@xxxxxxxxxx
http://daviddillard.businesscard2.com
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