(mentions CMT) Florida Professor's study could slow down brain's aging process

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Professor's study could slow down brain's aging process

http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/professor-s-study-could-slow-down-brain-s-ag\

ing-process-1.1943845#5

More than 250 people gathered on Sept. 30 to hear Dr. Ella Bossy-Wetzel, an

associate professor in the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, reveal that

her studies " are on the forefront to unravel the secrets of neurodegeneration. "

" There is hope with research, " Bossy-Wetzel said.

Bossy-Wetzel took her audience behind the doors of the UCF medical lab during

her speech at the Orlando Museum of Arts, which was the third part of the

College of Medicine's Luminary Series. Her studies on neurodegeneration, the

death of neurons in the brain, provided optimistic results.

Bossy-Wetzel said the brain has 100 billion neurons. A person loses neurons

throughout the process of aging. Diseases and injuries, such as Huntington's

chorea, strokes, Dominant Optic Atrophy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Syndrome, can

cause the loss or fragmentation of neurons. The brain cannot make new neurons

during one's life span, but fragmentation may be reversible, she said.

The crowd reacted with shock and laughter when she said a person would have to

drink 200 glasses of red wine a day to reanimate brain cells.

Her hope for future research is to find a way to make such results possible in

the form of a medicine or another type of treatment, without the harmful side

effects of 200 glasses of wine.

Bossy-Wetzel was also able to provide specific information about Huntington's

chorea, a disease resulting from neurodegeneration.

Milek, the president of the Central Florida affliate of the Huntington's

Disease Society of America, came to the speech with optimistic expectations.

" UCF doing research for Huntington's gives us hope, " she said.

Milek tested positive for Huntington's 12 years ago.

Bossy-Wetzel said there are 35,000 people currently affected by Huntington's,

and there are 250,000 at risk. The disease is hereditary, and there is a 50

percent chance of an at-risk child having the disease, she said. Patients with

Huntington's lose weight rapidly, causing a patient to have to eat 5,000

calories a day to maintain weight.

Weight was a reoccurring topic as Bossy-Wetzel also discussed how one's diet

could affect the longevity of their life. Eat less and live longer, Bossy-Wetzel

said. To the audience's dismay, she said the average person should reduce their

caloric intake by 30 to 40 percent to add time to their life.

" I'm not talking about starvation, " she said, emphasizing that caloric

restriction and high nutrition are the keys to good health.

At the close of her speech, Bossy-Wetzel encouraged young listeners to become

scientists.

" We need your talent, " she said. " There is a desperate need of treatment for

degenerative diseases. "

These comments were most likely directed to the busload of students from St.

High School that drove two hours from Vero Beach to hear Bossy-Wetzel

speak.

Cory Quinlan, a junior at St. , plans on doing as Bossy-Wetzel suggested.

Quinlan recently finished a five-week study on traumatic brain injury at s

Hopkins University, where he hopes to someday attend college and study

neuroscience.

Bossy-Wetzel attributed the success of the UCF lab to her team. The team is made

up of undergraduate and gradute students and research analysts. One member of

her team, Khaled Abuthweij, a UCF alumnus with a master's degree from Tulane

University, commended Bossy-Wetzel for her funds, awards and " ground-breaking

work " .

Bossy-Wetzel came to UCF in 2007 and has trained in California, New York and

Paris.

A scientist can be measured by the number of times their work has been cited,

according to Dr. Pappachan E. Kolattukudy, director of the Burnett School of

Biomedical Sciences.

Bossy-Wetzel has been cited more than 7,800 times.