health
THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
Study sheds light on biological roots of
post-traumatic stress disorder University of Michigan re-
searchers say they have iden- tified what appears to be a crucial step in the chain of biological events leading to post-traumatic stress disor- der.
Their findings support the
idea that exposure to a trau- matic event can trigger genetic changes that alter the body’s immune system, leading to post-traumatic stress disor- der. PTSD is a severe anxiety disorder that develops in some people who have been exposed to events involving the threat of serious injury or death.
“We think we have uncov-
ered a key biological step in the process that leads to PTSD,” said Monica Uddin, a molecular epidemiologist at the U-M School of Public Health’s Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health.
“Diseases in general, and
psychiatric diseases in par- ticular, involve an interplay between social and biological factors,” said Uddin, an assis- tant research scientist in the U-M Department of Epidemiol- ogy and lead author of a paper scheduled to be published online Monday in the Proceed- ings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“In the case of PTSD, trau-
matic events can get under your skin and literally alter your biology, with significant physical and mental conse- quences,” she said. “That’s the main message of this paper.”
The researchers used data
from the Detroit Neighbor- hood Health Study, a five-year project funded by the Nation- al Institutes of Health. They examined more than 14,000 genes using DNA from blood samples provided by 100 De- troit residents. Twenty-three
of those individuals suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The researchers identified
numerous genes — most of them involved in regulating the immune system — that appeared to be more active in people with PTSD. Previous studies have posited a link between altered immune func- tion and PTSD. The new U-M findings support that model and go a step further by iden- tifying a specific biochemical reaction that may be involved.
That biochemical reac-
tion is a process called DNA methylation, in which methyl groups (CH3 groups) are added to some of the molecular let- ters that spell out the genetic code. DNA methylation can alter gene activity, typically re- ducing it.
For technical reasons, the
U-M-led research team could not directly measure gene ac- tivity in this study. So they used methylation patterns as a proxy for gene activity and compared the signatures found in PTSD sufferers to those without the disorder.
They found that methyla-
tion levels of immune-related genes were lower in the PTSD group, suggesting increased activity in those genes. That finding supports a model for PTSD in which exposure to a traumatic event changes gene expression, which in turn alters immune-system activ- ity, leading to the disorder.
“To the best of our knowl-
edge, there have been no studies to date that have doc- umented differences in epi- genetic methylation patterns among persons with vs. with- out PTSD,” the authors wrote.
The findings have potential
implications for the treatment of PTSD. Since DNA methyla-
tion states are changeable, it’s conceivable that genes identi- fied in this study could become targets for new drug therapies to treat PTSD, Uddin said.
In a follow-up project that’s
part of the Detroit Neighbor- hood Health Study, the re- searchers will analyze blood samples from about 500 De- troit residents. They’ll test DNA methylation levels again, and they’ll also directly mea- sure gene activity by analyzing RNA in the blood samples. The follow-up study is funded, in part, by a $995,000 Challenge Grant from the National Insti- tutes of Health.
Allison Aiello, an assistant
professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, is the principal investigator for the Challenge Grant. In addi- tion, Aiello took over as leader of the Detroit Neighborhood Health Study after Sandro Galea left U-M for Columbia University.
In addition to Uddin, Aiello
and Galea, the authors of the PNAS report are Derek Wild- man of Wayne State University, Karestan Koenen of the Har- vard School of Public Health, Graham Pawelec of the Uni- versity of Tubingen Medical School in Germany, Regina de los Santos of the University of Michigan and Emily Goldmann of the University of Michigan.
The study was supported
by several National Institutes of Health grants. Additional support was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Small Grant Program, the U-M Office of the Vice President for Re- search Faculty Grants and Awards Program, the Wayne State University Research Ex- cellence Fund, and a grant from the U-M Nathan Shock Center.
St. Joseph Mercy Oakland colorectal screening finds individuals with positive results
St. Joseph Mercy Oakland’s
(SJMO) recent free commu- nity-wide colorectal cancer screening campaign resulted in 1,099 persons returning their screening kits for test-
ing. Fifty-one persons, or 4.6
percent of the returns, had positive results for blood in the stool sample, a possible symptom of colorectal cancer.
Those with positive results
were all notified and referred to their personal physicians for further testing to deter- mine if they have the disease.
Memorable moments in Black history
By Hugh Burrell This week we are going fill
your mind with some serious Black history.
Our first stop is April 15,
1947 when Jackie Robinson broke the color line when he made his major league base- ball debut before a crowd of 26,623 at Ebbett Field. He became of the greatest base- ball players of all time.
Nov. 1, 1945: Ebony maga-
zine was introduced to the public, the beginning of a new era in Black oriented journal- ism.
March 21, 1946 — Kenny
Washington signed with the Los Angeles Rams and became the first Black player in professional football. He was an outstanding player. Three other Blacks, Woody Strode of the Rams and Ben Willis and Marion Motley of the Cleveland Browns signed in the same year. Strode also became a successful actor.
June 3, 1946: The U.S. Su-
preme Court, by way of Irene Morgan v Commonwealth of Virginia, bans segregation in inter-state bus travel.
Dec. 5, 1946: President
Harry S. Truman created the landmark Committee on Civil Rights. In October 1947, the Committee issued a formal report, “To secure These Rights,” which condemned racism in America.
July 26, 1948: In re-
sponse to widespread Black protest and a threat of civil disobedience, President Truman issued two executive orders ending racial discrimi- nation in federal employment and requiring equal treatment in all of the armed services.
Sept. 22, 1950: Ralph J.
Bunche was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his successful mediation of the Israel-Pales- tine conflict. He was the first Black person to win a Nobel prize.
Nov. 1, 1951: Publication
of the first issue of Jet maga- zine by Johnson Publishing Company.
Hugh Burrell May 17, 1954: In a unani-
mous decision, the Supreme Court outlawed segregation in the public school system. The landmark Brown v Board of Education decision sounded the death knell for legal segre- gation in the United States.
May 10, 1955: Chuck Berry
recorded “Maybelline,” which played a major role in develop- ment of rock and roll. Berry and other Black stars, notably Muddy Waters and Little Rich- ard were the major musical influences on the Beatles and other British acts.
Dec. 5, 1955: Historic Mont-
gomery Bus Boycott began in Alabama. Rosa Parks sparked the boycott when she refused to give her bus seat up to a White man. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was elected president of the boycott orga- nization.
March 6, 1957: Indepen-
dence celebration of Ghana marked the beginning of the end for colonial rule in Africa.
Aug. 28, 1957 U.S. Con-
gress passed the Civil Right Act of 1957, the first federal civil right legislation since 1875.
Sept. 25, 1957: Nine Little
Rock, Arkansas, Black stu- dents were escorted into Central High School by fed- eral troops, ending efforts to thwart court-ordered integra- tion.
The Memory Train December 17, 1959: The
founding of Motown Records helped change the understand- ing, marketing and promotion of Black popular music.
February 1, 1960: Four
North Carolina A&T students began the sit-in movement at the lunch counter of a Greens- boro, N.C. five and dime store.
May 4, 1961: Thirteen Free-
dom Riders began a bus trip through the South to test compliance with laws banning segregation in inter-state transportation facilites.
Oct. 1 1962: Escorted
by12.000 federal troops, James Meredith entered the Univer- sity of Mississippi, ending the state’s defiance of federal law.
June 12, 1963: Medgar
Evers, NAACP field secretary in Mississippi, was assassi- nated in front of his home.
Aug. 28, 1963: 250,000
people participated in the March on Washington, the big- gest civil rights demonstration ever.
Sept. 15, 1963: Four Black
girls were killed in the bomb- ing of Sixteenth Street Baptish Church in Birmingham.
I am going to stop right
here because it is so painful to see how so many Blacks were murdered and nothing was really done about it. However, I know that as a writer, I must continue to remind everyone that murder, hate and racism must be exposed for the ben- efit of all.
Special Hello Dept: Arnold
Hannon (author of the book “The American Scheme”), Charletta, Mac Henry and family, Huel Perkins, Larry Bulford, Luther Keith, John Mason and to the Ollie Wood- son family. What a great singer who always brought the house down.
I’ll plant you now and dig
U later. Peace and chicken grease.
Hugh Burrell can be contact-
ed at (313) 872-3437 or e-mail
Hughburrell@aol.com.
June is National Men’s Health Month
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June 9-15, 2010
Page A-9
The best place to start if you want to stop the spread of the flu is to talk to your doctor or healthcare provider. The vaccine is the safest and most effective way to fight the flu. While there are some supplies of H1N1 vaccine available now, in the fall the seasonal flu vaccine will also protect you from H1N1. Spread the word. Talk to your doctor. Stop the spread.
michigan.gov/flu
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