{"id":13993,"date":"2016-06-13T13:24:48","date_gmt":"2016-06-13T18:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=13993"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:28:29","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:28:29","slug":"memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=13993","title":{"rendered":"Committed to Memory"},"content":{"rendered":"
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These colorful images from the PET\/MR scanner within the UNC Biomedical Imaging Research Center (BRIC) show metabolism \u2014 chemical reactions that maintain live cells \u2014 in the brain. Lower rates of metabolism in the brain may be a sign of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.
(Photo courtesy of Kelly Giovanello)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A<\/span> med technician at the UNC<\/span> Biomedical Imaging Research Center (BRIC<\/span>) \u2014 one of three university centers in the country with a PET<\/span>\/MR<\/span> scanner \u2014 inserts an IV<\/span> into the left arm of a woman wearing a hospital gown and leads her into the next room. The patient lays down on a table, which, after a few minutes, begins to move backward into a confined dome. The tech injects a fluid into her IV<\/span>. The faint thrumming of machinery creates a din in the background. The patient relaxes and remains almost perfectly still for 80 minutes so researchers can see when and where the fluid inserted into her IV<\/span> enters her\u00a0brain.<\/p>\n

The PET<\/span>\/MR<\/span> scanner allows researchers to observe the functions and structure of the brain including its volume, thickness, and surface. It\u2019s one of the reasons psychology and neuroscience professor Kelly Giovanello was drawn to UNC<\/span>-Chapel Hill 10 years\u00a0ago.<\/p>\n

Giovanello studies human memory and changes in the brain like those caused by Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Specifically, she observes two types of proteins that form in the spaces between the brain\u2019s nerve cells and impair memory and function. To do so, she and her team in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Laboratory use ligands \u2014 molecules that attach to these proteins in order to show, using the PET<\/span>\/MR<\/span> scanner, where they reside in the brain.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to figure out who will develop Alzheimer\u2019s disease,\u201d she explains, \u201cand to be able to diagnose it.\u201d Alzheimer\u2019s disease can, currently, only be diagnosed during autopsies, after someone has died \u2014 a hard thought to digest, considering it affects more than 5 million people in the United States, according to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association<\/a>. \u201cAnd that number is expected to quadruple by 2050,\u201d Giovanello says. \u201cThe number-one risk factor for Alzheimer\u2019s is age, and baby boomers and older adults are living\u00a0longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giovanello sees study participants at all levels of risk for Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Brain scan comparisons of people who have healthy brains versus those who have a mild cognitive impairment, she believes, will help her and her team discover who will ultimately develop the disease. \u201cThe new frontier of Alzheimer\u2019s is very early identification of the disease,\u201d she explains. \u201cWe want to be able to diagnose someone before they begin having memory\u00a0symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breaching the\u00a0barrier<\/strong><\/p>\n

A series of vessels surrounding the brain create an effect similar to that of the Great Wall of China, according to pharmacy professor Elena Batrakova<\/a>. Called the blood brain barrier, this \u201cwall\u201d is made up of very long vessels that are difficult to penetrate \u2014 and their role is to keep harmful toxins away from the brain. That\u2019s why treatment for diseases in the brain has been so incredibly difficult for researchers. But Batrakova has found a way to get past the brain\u2019s\u00a0defenses.<\/p>\n

Macrophages \u2014 a type of white blood cell \u2014 cross the blood brain barrier to reduce inflammation. Batrakova can load live versions of these cells with antioxidants like catalase, which are known to remove harmful substances from the body. In this particular case, Batrakova hopes the antioxidants will deactivate neuron-killing free radicals. Once the macrophages are loaded, she injects them intravenously back into the\u00a0patient.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen free radicals kill neurons,\u201d Batrakova says, \u201cthe cells die and cause inflammation. The macrophages know where to go because they are immune response cells; they can sense where the inflammation is and deliver the drug\u00a0there.\u201d<\/p>\n

After seeing the success of this process, Batrakova felt she and her team of researchers could take it one step further. She thought: Why don\u2019t we inject these macrophages with DNA<\/span> that can <\/em>synthesize catalase? <\/em>\u201cIt\u2019s a much more beautiful story this time around,\u201d she laughs. \u201cWe can deliver more catalase this\u00a0way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, she took it further: exosomes. Macrophages naturally release exosomes \u2014 proteins that adhere to the surfaces of membranes and transfer molecules from one cell to another. \u201cWhen scientists first discovered exosomes, they thought they were trash bags \u2014 that their job was to discard unnecessary proteins and gene material,\u201d Batrakova says. \u201cBut one man\u2019s trash is another man\u2019s treasure. It\u2019s a treasure we use as a drug delivery\u00a0vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of loading the macrophages with the drug, Batrakova loaded the exosomes and found that they reach nearly the entire brain. And, because they\u2019re small, they can be administered to patients in the form of nasal spray. \u201cThey are small enough to travel through the nerves in the nose to the olfactory pathway and then to the brain,\u201d she points out. Although her research has only been tested on mice, she and her research team are in the process of getting funding and approval for a clinical\u00a0trial.<\/p>\n

Knowing the\u00a0signs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Talking to a doctor as soon as you or someone you know starts to become more forgetful is the best way to fight this disease, according to Giovanello. She strongly believes early diagnosis is key, and regularly participates in community outreach programs like Morehead Planetarium\u2019s UNC<\/span> Science Expo<\/a> to answer questions from community members about Alzheimer\u2019s disease. She stresses the importance of sharing scientific data with the\u00a0public.<\/p>\n

Giovanello also visits a local retirement community each semester to chat with residents about the brain and healthy aging. The best way to keep the brain healthy, she explains, is to stay engaged \u2014 mentally, physically, and socially. For example, games like tennis and badminton combine all\u00a0three.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople fear Alzheimer\u2019s so much because it\u2019s unpredictable who is going to get it,\u201d Giovanello says. \u201cIt\u2019s a disease that deprives you of who you are. If you don\u2019t have your memory, it\u2019s really hard to have a sense of self and\u00a0identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lot of people have experienced Alzheimer\u2019s firsthand, whether it\u2019s a family member or a friend \u2014 and it\u2019s often these people who volunteer for Giovanello\u2019s research studies. \u201cNot only does the researcher get the benefit of collecting data,\u201d she explains, \u201cbut the participants themselves express satisfaction with their involvement in helping scientists understand\u00a0Alzheimer\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Kelly Giovanello is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience within the UNC<\/span> College of Arts &<\/span> Sciences, and leads the Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory\u00a0Laboratory.<\/em><\/div>\n
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Elena Batrakova is an associate professor in the UNC<\/span> Eshelman School of Pharmacy and a member of the school\u2019s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery. Her 10 years of research on this topic has been supported by National Institutes of Health\u00a0grants.<\/em><\/p>\n

In December 2015, the National Institutes of Health received a $2 billion increase<\/a> from Congress \u2014 a budget bump that includes specific funding for Alzheimer\u2019s disease, as well as antimicrobial research and the Precision Medicine\u00a0Initiative.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Story by Alyssa LaFaro,<\/em> Endeavors<\/a> magazine<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alzheimer\u2019s disease affects more than 5 million Americans \u2014 a number predicted to increase to 20 million by 2050, according to UNC researchers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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