Brain tumor cells interact with neurons, glial cells, and immune cells in complex ways that often benefit the cancer cells while compromising the function of normal neural cells. In this episode I talk with Washington University Neurology Professor David Gutmann about brain cancer cells and their communication with surrounding normal cells. A major component of Dr. Gutmann's research program focuses on Neurofibromatosis a rare genetic disorder that causes non-malignant brain tumors as well as abnormal growth of cells in other organ systems. The disease results from loss-of-function mutations in the NF1 protein which normally functions to constrain cell growth. Discoveries concerning the 'sociobiology' of brain tumors is providing a foundation for the development of new approaches for treating a range of cancers.

LINKS

Dr. Gutmann's Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_H._Gutmann

Related articles:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10107403/pdf/nihms-1872327.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9883043/pdf/nihms-1861630.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11972679/pdf/djae249.pdf

There is considerable evidence that exposure to certain chemicals in the environment cause Parkinson's disease in many people. In this episode neurologist Ray Dorsey talks about some of the chemicals that may cause Parkinson's disease including the pesticides paraquat and rotenone, and trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene which are chemicals used for degreasing and dry-cleaning.

LINKS

Relevant journal articles:

https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S1474-4422%2825%2900287-X

file:///Users/markmattson/Downloads/Annals%20of%20Neurology%20-%202008%20-%20Gash%20-%20Trichloroethylene%20%20Parkinsonism%20and%20complex%201%20mitochondrial%20neurotoxicity%20(1).pdf

Book on how to reduce one's risk for Parkinson's disease:

https://www.amazon.com/Parkinsons-Plan-Path-Prevention-Treatment/dp/1541705386/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=186412556077&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8jetPIdc_D3gQSod-GXEVDXUJcI1IMKFz7jXpUf0jZt-LxGsRBm9oV9TQGQJK_FDpWNY4KOJrayE8WoGPJsMXbouqzGwj3UhO0CZZGHmz8g.M4hWGhlS7Crp9zwfODlDDDNnseiHLTdHHBLooZ1LR-M&dib_tag=se&hvadid=779621628364&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9007816&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=14825241056223650898--&hvqmt=b&hvrand=14825241056223650898&hvtargid=aud-2443140936121%3Akwd-936298351901&hydadcr=15520_13558534_8423&keywords=ray+dorsey+parkinson&mcid=c3eec2c85d703461a8216f138ac2c1e7&qid=1762952366&sr=8-1#averageCustomerReviewsAnchor

A shared feature of neurodegenerative disorders is accumulation of aggregated proteins within neurons: Tau in Alzheimer's disease; alpha-synuclein in Parkinson's disease; huntingtin in Huntington's disease; and TDP43 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In this episode Ai Yamamoto – an Associate Professor Neurology at Columbia University – talks about the trail of discoveries that led to the identification of a protein called ALFY that can prevent and reverse the accumulation of such pathogenic proteins. Remarkably, her team and collaborators found that some people have a variant of the gene encoding ALFY that confers resistance of those individuals to Huntington's disease. This discovery opens many new and exciting directions for future research aimed at better understanding what goes wrong in neurodegenerative disorders and for developing interventions counteract the disease process.

LINKS

Yamamoto Laboratory web page: https://www.aiyamamoto-lab.org/

Dr. Yamamoto's publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=HuJslgMAAAAJ&pagesize=80&view_op=list_works

Key research articles:

https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0896-6273%2825%2900624-5

file:///Users/markmattson/Downloads/s41583-022-00588-3.pdf

https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0896-6273%2819%2931045-1