The Coming Epidemic of Neurologic Disorders: What Science Is – and Should Be – Doing About It

Daedalus ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 141 (3) ◽  
pp. 98-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory A. Petsko
Keyword(s):  
Sharp Increase ◽  
The United States ◽  
Severe Damage ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Medical Need ◽  
Neurologic Disorders ◽  
Parkinson’S Diseases ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Susceptible Populations ◽  
The Cost

The Earth's population is aging fast, and the coming sharp increase in the number of people over age sixty-five will bring with it an epidemic of age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Currently, no cures exist for the major neurologic disorders. Unless cures can be found, by 2050 the cost of these diseases will exceed $1 trillion annually in the United States, and the burden for other countries will scale with their populations. Despite exciting advances in our understanding of these diseases, both government research funding and the efforts of industry have failed to keep pace with this unmet medical need. Private philanthropy has done better, but the total dollars spent on developing diagnostics and therapeutics for neurologic disorders still lags far behind that spent on much less prevalent diseases. The challenge for biomedical research in the next forty years is to identify markers that would allow early detection of high-risk cohorts, and to develop therapies that either will prevent the diseases from starting at all in susceptible populations or will arrest their progression before severe damage to the central nervous system has occurred.

Epidemiology and Pathophysiology of Epilepsy

2021 ◽  
pp. 719-721
Author(s):  
David B. Burkholder
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
The United States ◽  
System P ◽  
Neurologic Disorders ◽  
Symptomatic Seizures ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Active Epilepsy ◽  
Acute Symptomatic Seizures

About 10% of people in the United States have 1 seizure in their lifetime; less than 4% have recurrent seizures or epilepsy. Currently, more than 3.4 million people in the United States have active epilepsy, making it one of the most common neurologic disorders. Seizures can develop at any age, but the most common times are during childhood and after age 60 years. The greatest incidence is in elderly patients. Acute symptomatic seizures (also called provoked seizures or reactive seizures) result from new and active insults to the central nervous system.

Demonstrating Nutrient Cost Gradients: A Brooklyn Case Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 84 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 244-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Karp ◽  
Gary Wong ◽  
Marguerite Orsi
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Food Selection ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Department ◽  
Micronutrient Deficiencies ◽  
Caloric Density ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Introduction: Foods dense in micronutrients are generally more expensive than those with higher energy content. These cost-differentials may put low-income families at risk of diminished micronutrient intake. Objectives: We sought to determine differences in the cost for iron, folate, and choline in foods available for purchase in a low-income community when assessed for energy content and serving size. Methods: Sixty-nine foods listed in the menu plans provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for low-income families were considered, in 10 domains. The cost and micronutrient content for-energy and per-serving of these foods were determined for the three micronutrients. Exact Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for comparisons of energy costs; Spearman rho tests for comparisons of micronutrient content. Ninety families were interviewed in a pediatric clinic to assess the impact of food cost on food selection. Results: Significant differences between domains were shown for energy density with both cost-for-energy (p < 0.001) and cost-per-serving (p < 0.05) comparisons. All three micronutrient contents were significantly correlated with cost-for-energy (p < 0.01). Both iron and choline contents were significantly correlated with cost-per-serving (p < 0.05). Of the 90 families, 38 (42 %) worried about food costs; 40 (44 %) had chosen foods of high caloric density in response to that fear, and 29 of 40 families experiencing both worry and making such food selection. Conclusion: Adjustments to USDA meal plans using cost-for-energy analysis showed differentials for both energy and micronutrients. These differentials were reduced using cost-per-serving analysis, but were not eliminated. A substantial proportion of low-income families are vulnerable to micronutrient deficiencies.

Use of cold tolerant eucalyptus species as a partial replacement for southern mixed hardwoods

TAPPI Journal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 29-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER W. HART ◽  
DALE E. NUTTER
Keyword(s):  
Potential Method ◽  
The United States ◽  
Partial Replacement ◽  
Growth Time ◽  
Eucalyptus Species ◽  
Cold Tolerant ◽  
Hardwood Pulp ◽  
Time Required ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Operational Data

During the last several years, the increasing cost and decreasing availability of mixed southern hardwoods have resulted in financial and production difficulties for southern U.S. mills that use a significant percentage of hardwood kraft pulp. Traditionally, in the United States, hardwoods are not plantation grown because of the growth time required to produce a quality tree suitable for pulping. One potential method of mitigating the cost and supply issues associated with the use of native hardwoods is to grow eucalyptus in plantations for the sole purpose of producing hardwood pulp. However, most of the eucalyptus species used in pulping elsewhere in the world are not capable of surviving in the southern U.S. climate. This study examines the potential of seven different cold-tolerant eucalyptus species to be used as replacements for, or supplements to, mixed southern hardwoods. The laboratory pulping and bleaching aspects of these seven species are discussed, along with pertinent mill operational data. Selected mill trial data also are reviewed.

The Unusual Cruelty of Nursing Homes Behind Bars

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 264-271
Author(s):  
Rachel E. López
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Prison Population ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The United States ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Trained Staff ◽  
State Prisons ◽  
The Cost

The elderly prison population continues to rise along with higher rates of dementia behind bars. To maintain the detention of this elderly population, federal and state prisons are creating long-term care units, which in turn carry a heavy financial burden. Prisons are thus gearing up to become nursing homes, but without the proper trained staff and adequate financial support. The costs both to taxpayers and to human dignity are only now becoming clear. This article squarely addresses the second dimension of this carceral practice, that is the cost to human dignity. Namely, it sets out why indefinitely incarcerating someone with dementia or other neurocognitive disorders violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. This conclusion derives from the confluence of two lines of U.S. Supreme Court precedent. First, in Madison v. Alabama, the Court recently held that executing someone (in Madison’s case someone with dementia) who cannot rationally understand their sentence amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Second, in line with Miller v. Alabama, which puts life without parole (LWOP) sentences in the same class as death sentences due to their irrevocability, this holding should be extended to LWOP sentences. Put another way, this article explains why being condemned to life is equivalent to death for someone whose neurodegenerative disease is so severe that they cannot rationally understand their punishment.

scholarly journals Autism Tsunami: the Impact of Rising Prevalence on the Societal Cost of Autism in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Blaxill ◽  
Toby Rogers ◽  
Cynthia Nevison
Keyword(s):  
Forecast Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Population Projections ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
Total Base ◽  
Cost Categories ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

AbstractThe cost of ASD in the U.S. is estimated using a forecast model that for the first time accounts for the true historical increase in ASD. Model inputs include ASD prevalence, census population projections, six cost categories, ten age brackets, inflation projections, and three future prevalence scenarios. Future ASD costs increase dramatically: total base-case costs of $223 (175–271) billion/year are estimated in 2020; $589 billion/year in 2030, $1.36 trillion/year in 2040, and $5.54 (4.29–6.78) trillion/year by 2060, with substantial potential savings through ASD prevention. Rising prevalence, the shift from child to adult-dominated costs, the transfer of costs from parents onto government, and the soaring total costs raise pressing policy questions and demand an urgent focus on prevention strategies.

scholarly journals Two human metabolites rescue a C. elegans model of Alzheimer’s disease via a cytosolic unfolded protein response

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyanka Joshi ◽  
Michele Perni ◽  
Ryan Limbocker ◽  
Benedetta Mannini ◽  
Sam Casford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Unfolded Protein Response ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorders ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Unfolded Protein ◽  
Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Parkinson’S Diseases ◽  
Protein Response

AbstractAge-related changes in cellular metabolism can affect brain homeostasis, creating conditions that are permissive to the onset and progression of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Although the roles of metabolites have been extensively studied with regard to cellular signaling pathways, their effects on protein aggregation remain relatively unexplored. By computationally analysing the Human Metabolome Database, we identified two endogenous metabolites, carnosine and kynurenic acid, that inhibit the aggregation of the amyloid beta peptide (Aβ) and rescue a C. elegans model of Alzheimer’s disease. We found that these metabolites act by triggering a cytosolic unfolded protein response through the transcription factor HSF-1 and downstream chaperones HSP40/J-proteins DNJ-12 and DNJ-19. These results help rationalise previous observations regarding the possible anti-ageing benefits of these metabolites by providing a mechanism for their action. Taken together, our findings provide a link between metabolite homeostasis and protein homeostasis, which could inspire preventative interventions against neurodegenerative disorders.

Constructing Images of Deviance: A Look at State Intervention into the Problem of Wife-Battery

1983 ◽  
Vol 31 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 60-76
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Social Problem ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Structural Position ◽  
Wife Battering ◽  
The Social ◽  
Class Context ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Cost

Patricia Morgan's paper describes what happens when the state intervenes in the social problem of wife-battering. Her analysis refers to the United States, but there are clear implications for other countries, including Britain. The author argues that the state, through its social problem apparatus, manages the image of the problem by a process of bureaucratization, professionalization and individualization. This serves to narrow the definition of the problem, and to depoliticize it by removing it from its class context and viewing it in terms of individual pathology rather than structure. Thus refuges were initially run by small feminist collectives which had a dual objective of providing a service and promoting among the women an understanding of their structural position in society. The need for funds forced the groups to turn to the state for financial aid. This was given, but at the cost to the refuges of losing their political aims. Many refuges became larger, much more service-orientated and more diversified in providing therapy for the batterers and dealing with other problems such as alcoholism and drug abuse. This transformed not only the refuges but also the image of the problem of wife-battering.

scholarly journals Sexuality in Later Life and Mental Health Among Older Black Gay Men

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 313-314
Author(s):  
Darlingtina Esiaka ◽  
Alice Cheng ◽  
Candidus Nwakasi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Later Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Black Gay Men

Abstract Self-acknowledgement and integration of racial and sexual identities are significant to one’s overall sense of identity because of their implications for mental health and wellbeing. These issues are important as one ages because older people experience a wide range of factors that add layers to their ability to (re)integrate subsets of their identity into their overall self-identity such as age and age-related disabilities. This study examined the intersection of race and sexual identities on overall health status in older Black gay men, a demographic group that has historically received less attention. Data from the Social Justice Sexuality (SJS) survey of LGBTQ+ people of color which occurred over a 12-month period in the United States were analyzed. Participants (N=160), 50 years and over, responded to questions about their sexuality, social identity, family dynamics, community connection and engagement, and mental and physical health. Results show an association of mental wellbeing with racial and sexual identities. Further, results show that a strong sense of connection to other sexual minorities is positively associated with mental health in older Black gay men. We discuss the implication of findings for mental health interventions targeting this gendered population.

scholarly journals Small GTPases of the Rab and Arf Families: Key Regulators of Intracellular Trafficking in Neurodegeneration

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4425
Author(s):  
Alazne Arrazola Arrazola Sastre ◽  
Miriam Luque Luque Montoro ◽  
Hadriano M. Lacerda ◽  
Francisco Llavero ◽  
José L. Zugaza
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Trafficking ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorders ◽  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
Intracellular Trafficking ◽  
Small Gtpases ◽  
Constant Flow ◽  
Parkinson’S Diseases ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Arf Gtpases

Small guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) of the Rab and Arf families are key regulators of vesicle formation and membrane trafficking. Membrane transport plays an important role in the central nervous system. In this regard, neurons require a constant flow of membranes for the correct distribution of receptors, for the precise composition of proteins and organelles in dendrites and axons, for the continuous exocytosis/endocytosis of synaptic vesicles and for the elimination of dysfunctional proteins. Thus, it is not surprising that Rab and Arf GTPases have been associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Both pathologies share characteristics such as the presence of protein aggregates and/or the fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus, hallmarks that have been related to both Rab and Arf GTPases functions. Despite their relationship with neurodegenerative disorders, very few studies have focused on the role of these GTPases in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration. In this review, we summarize their importance in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as their emergence as potential therapeutical targets for neurodegeneration.

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