HJBR Mar/Apr 2024

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  MAR / APR 2024 25 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalBR.com into everyday practices within our communities.” Greaux Healthy aims to help expectant moth- ers maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy, prevent gestational diabetes, use technology to encourage families to be more active and prevent type 2 diabetes, and bring family weight-manage- ment programming to pediatricians’ offices, aid- ing children and their parents in improving their health together. “It is imperative that our research and solutions get put into practice, and that we work with indi- viduals around their whole life cycle, from before birth through young adulthood. We are doing this by partnering with childcare centers, schools, pediatricians, and community leaders,” explained Martin. Greaux Healthy comes at a crucial time in Loui- siana. One in five children currently have obesity — the third-highest rate among all states. Recog- nizing the urgency, state leaders have supported this scientifically validated initiative, understand- ing its significance not only for fostering a better quality of life and a thriving economy but also for positively impacting health at each stage of a child’s life and in every environment. Once fully implemented, Greaux Healthy will expand to chil- dren and families across every parish in the state. “We are very excited to see the research in aca- demic journals come alive throughout Louisiana,” said PB Research Foundation Interim President and CEO André Greene. “We look forward to expanding this initiative to every corner of the state by partnering with individuals and organi- zations who share our vision for a healthier Loui- siana and can invest philanthropically in Greaux Healthy.” LSUHealth Discovery Focuses on Degenerative Diseases of Brain, Eyes Scientists at LSU Health New Orleans’ Neurosci- ence Center of Excellence, led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Boyd professor and director, have iden- tified a new mechanism that regulates a protein key for cell survival. It appears to protect against the excessive oxidative stress that precedes the development of neurodegenerative diseases of the brain and eye. Results are published in the Nature journal, Cell Death & Disease . “This discovery goes beyond the commonly studied transcriptional modulation, suggesting its impact on protection against oxidative stress- related diseases and extension of lifespan,” said Bazan, who is also the Ernest C. and Yvette C. Vil- lere Chair for Retinal Degenerations and Bollinger Family Professor in Alzheimer’s Disease. “We found that Elovanoid-34 modulates the activity of the protein, TXNRD1, which is central to the initiation cascade of oxidative stress.” Elovanoid-34 is part of a class of molecules in the brain discovered by the Bazan lab that syn- chronize cell-to-cell communication and neuroin- flammation-immune activity in response to injury or disease. Elovanoids are bioactive chemical messengers made from omega-3 very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. They are released on demand when cells are damaged or stressed. Oxidative stress occurs when there is an imbal- ance between free radicals and antioxidant defenses to detoxify them. It can lead to cell and tissue damage and the onset of diseases. The research team, which included scientists from the Swiss company Biognosys AG, iden- tified the proteins affected by elovanoid-34. Using proteomics, they screened 130,000 pro- tein sequences corresponding to 4,749 proteins and discovered that only one changed in struc- ture upon contact with elovanoid-34. Research- ers found that TXNRD1 is a crucial component of the antioxidant system, glutathione, and targets a regulator of ferroptosis, a type of cell death. This is particularly the case in age-related macular degeneration where the support cells of the pho- toreceptors of the light in the retina succumb to excessive oxidative stress conditions. These cells, called retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, can be rescued from death by elovanoid-34, stopping the neurodegeneration of the retina and blind- ness. The current study uses human RPE cells, which were developed in the Bazan lab. “This breakthrough discovery opens new ther- apeutic avenues for various pathologies and the promotion of successful aging of the nervous sys- tem,” said Bazan. LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center co-authors also included Drs. Jorgelina Calandria, Surjyadipta Bhattacharjee, Sayantani Kala-Bhat- tacharjee, and Pranab K. Mukherjee. Co-authors from Biognosys AG included Yuehan Feng, Jakob Vowinckel and Tobias Treiber. The research was supported by a grant from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health and the Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat Founda- tion in New Orleans. “The present discovery opens a new dimen- sion to understanding the complex multifactorial process of aging,” added Bazan. “The gradual decline of functions in aging does engage exces- sive oxidative stress further magnified by co-mor- bidities such as diabetes and cardiovascular dis- orders. In fact, a clear connection is revealed by the present discovery because elovanoids also target neuronal cell senescence and epigenetic signaling. Overall, the protein discovered now to be a site of brain and retina (and likely other organs) protection by elovanoids opens avenues of targeted therapeutics for age-related diseases, stroke, ALS, and traumatic brain injury, as well as to sustain healthy, successful aging.” Pennington Biomedical Kicks Off Small Shifts Campaign Every new year, people resolve to improve some aspect of their lives. The most frequent res- olutions center around health, from joining a gym to kicking guilty pleasures cold turkey. A 2023 sur- vey conducted by Forbes Health revealed that the average New Year’s resolution only lasts 3.74 months — a swift end resulting from burnout and discouragement from the many realities of mak- ing drastic lifestyle changes. While frequently overlooked, minor adjust- ments — rather than radical ones — can go the furthest. That is why Pennington Biomedical is encouraging “Small Shifts,” a new campaign for 2024 that reduces the burden of overly ambitious health goals, while also fostering the likelihood of sustaining positive habits. Research conducted at Pennington Biomedical Research Center shows that subtle adjustments in daily routines and decision-making patterns are easier to adopt, integrate into your life, and stick with over the long term. Success is bolstered by feelings of accomplishment that provide fur- ther motivation to take the next step. Small shifts can have a lasting effect on health and wellbeing. To take part in Pennington Biomedical’s Small Shifts campaign, register for free online at https:// www.pbrc.edu/landing-pages/2024/small-shifts/. Participants receive the official Small Shifts