Aging, brain inflammation and behavior

[Guest guest]

Professor presents 'Aging, Brain Inflammation and Behavior'

Kristi Kawanna

Rodney presented a seminar " Aging Brain Inflammation and

Behavior " on Feb. 2.

Hosting the seminar was the department of biological sciences and Phi Sigma.

came to ISU from the University of Illinois, where he is an

integrative immunology and behavior professor. has also authored

over 78 publications.

" It is interesting to think about the interaction between the immune

system and the brain. Ten years ago people may not have even thought

there was such an interaction, but today that is not the case. Remember

that the brain does not have a way to detect infection pathogens, but

when we are sick we change our behavior, motivating us to act

differently than when we are well. I call this the sickness behavior

syndrome, " said.

After a brief introduction of his study, began to explain the

basis of his research.

" You begin with an infectious pathogen. A macrophage encounters the

infection and produces inflammatory cytokines in the brain. These

cytokines cause behavior response, " said.

Behavior responses include food intake, spatial working memory deficits,

slow wave sleep, lethargy, cognitive and motor deficits, depression,

decreased social behavior and anorexia.

then discussed the importance of Lipopolysaccharide and sickness

behavior. Part of the research has done to understand this

concept, has been performed on older rats. A rat injected with increased

LPS showed a difference in behavior than a rat that wasn't affected by

the LPS.

explained the brain forms a representation of the peripheral

innate immune system response. The representation is at the origin of

sickness behavior and is cytokine based.

" It's important to keep in mind that sickness behavior is normally

adaptive and fully reversible. s Canguilhem once said 'To be

healthy is to be able to be ill and recover from it.' Sickness behavior

is a normal part of life, " said.

also discussed the fact that ongoing brain pathology " primes "

microglia (primary stimulus) and that peripheral infection further

activates microglia (secondary stimulus).

This information is used in studying diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis

and Alzheimer's disease.

Also discussed at the seminar were the effects LPS and cytokines have on

the elderly.

" We need to understand what makes some individuals not recover

completely when they get well. This is especially true of the elderly.

An infection in an elderly person can lead to cognitive impairment. This

then leads to diminished self care such as weight loss, anorexia and the

fact that they will be less likely to visit an out-patient clinic. Once

self-care begins to diminish, more hospitalization is needed and the

mortality rate goes up, " said.

At the end of the seminar, guests were encouraged to ask questions. The

topics of inflammatory drugs in relation to fevers and whether or not

inflammation and depression are related were discussed.

" In regards to whether or not inflammatory drugs should be taken to

reduce fever is a topic that is being looked at carefully in the medical

world. I was surprised last year when I came across an article by the

American Nurses Association that discussed the benefits of fever. As

long as a fever isn't too high, inflammatory drugs aren't always needed

as long as the fever is monitored, " said.

" There is a strong link between inflammation of the brain and

depression. Anytime there is an increase in inflammation, there can be a

disruption in serotonin, which can lead to higher levels of depression, "

said.

also said anytime there is tissue trauma, inflammation is the

response, which can lead to post surgical cognitive disorder.

" I thought the seminar was very interesting. Everything was new

information to me, but it made sense. was a good speaker who

kept the information entertaining. He also brought the information down

to a basic level so it was easier to understand, " Slattery,

biology graduate student, said.