Vodcast 2007 Show Notes
Episode #0004 — July 6, 2007 Welcome to i on NIH! In this month’s episode: the dangers of sun exposure, hear about dealing with allergies, and talk i-to-eye with an eye expert.
V/O: FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH IN BETHESDA, MARYLAND – AMERICA’S PREMIERE MEDICAL RESEARCH AGENCY – THIS IS “I ON NIH”! COVERING HEALTH-RESEARCH TOPICS IMPORTANT TO YOU AND THE NATION, THIS PUBLIC SERVICE VODCAST IS YOUR INFORMATION SOURCE FROM INSIDE ALL 27 INSTITUTES AND CENTERS AT NIH. HALF AN HOUR, ONCE A MONTH, WE’LL SHOW YOU THE EXCITEMENT OF ADVANCES AND THE IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT COMES FROM MEDICAL RESEARCH. AND NOW, HERE’S YOUR HOST, JOE BALINTFY. MUSIC HOST: WELCOME TO THE JULY EDITION OF I ON NIH! SUMMER IS HERE, AND WE HAVE SOME GREAT TOPICS AND INFORMATION FOR THIS SUNNY SEASON. WE’LL LOOK INTO THE DANGERS OF SUN EXPOSURE, HEAR ABOUT DEALING WITH ALLERGIES, AND TALK EYE-TO-EYE, WITH AN EYE EXPERT. BUT FIRST, A NEWS UPDATE. HERE’S HARRISON WEIN FROM THE NIH NEWS-DESK. HARRISON: THANKS, JOE. I’D LIKE TO TALK FIRST ABOUT THE HUMAN GENOME AND BRING YOU BACK TO APRIL 2003. THAT’S WHEN RESEARCHERS MADE LOTS OF HEADLINES BY PUBLISHING THE COMPLETE DNA SEQUENCE OF A HUMAN BEING. SINCE THEN, SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN USING THIS DATA TO IDENTIFY GENES, WHICH ARE THE SECTIONS OF DNA THAT CODE FOR PROTEINS. BUT THESE PROTEIN-CODING REGIONS MAKE UP ONLY A SMALL FRACTION OF OUR COMPLETE DNA—LESS THAN 2%. THERE’S BEEN GROWING EVIDENCE THAT OTHER PARTS OF THE GENOME ARE ALSO IMPORTANT BUT THEIR FUNCTIONS ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN. THAT’S WHERE THE ENCODE CONSORTIUM COMES IN. IT WAS ORGANIZED BY NIH’S NATIONAL HUMAN GENOME RESEARCH INSTITUTE ENCODE RESEARCHERS SET OUT TO TEST THE IDEA OF PRODUCING A CATALOG OF ALL THE GENETIC COMPONENTS CRUCIAL FOR BIOLOGICAL FUNCTION. IN ITS PILOT PHASE, 35 RESEARCH GROUPS AROUND THE WORLD FOCUSED ON JUST 1% OF THE HUMAN GENOME. IT TOOK THEM FOUR-YEARS, AND THEY PUBLISHED THEIR RESULTS IN THE JUNE 14 ISSUE OF NATURE AND IN A WHOPPING 28 COMPANION PAPERS. THEY DISCOVERED THE HUMAN GENOME ISN’T BASICALLY A SMALL SET OF GENES SURROUNDED BY A LOT OF “JUNK” DNA. THE GENOME ACTUALLY CONTAINS VERY LITTLE UNUSED SEQUENCE AND, IN FACT, IS A COMPLEX, INTERWOVEN NETWORK. GENES ARE JUST ONE OF MANY TYPES OF DNA SEQUENCES WITH A BIOLOGICAL FUNCTION. THIS WORK SHOWS HOW FAR WE STILL HAVE TO GO IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE GENOME AND IT SETS THE STAGE FOR LOTS OF FUTURE RESEARCH. IN OTHER NEWS, PRIONS ARE THOUGHT TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DISEASES CALLED TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES. THAT’S A MOUTHFULL, BUT YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD OF AT LEAST ONE OF THEM, LIKE MAD COW DISEASE. THESE FATAL DISEASES ATTACK THE BRAIN UNTIL IT ESSENTIALLY LOOKS LIKE A SPONGE. PRIONS ARE VERY UNUSUAL, THOUGH, IN THE FIELD OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE. THEY ARE MISSHAPEN PROTEINS WITH NO DNA OR RNA—THAT IS, NO GENETIC MATERIAL. MANY RESEARCHERS HAVE BEEN SKEPTICAL OF THE IDEA THAT THEY CAN REALLY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DISEASE. NOW, A RESEARCH TEAM AT DARTMOUTH MEDICAL SCHOOL SUPPORTED IN PART BY NIH’S NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY CREATED PRIONS IN THE LABORATORY FOR THE FIRST TIME. THEY SHOWED THAT THEIR LABORATORY-CREATED PRIONS WERE INFECTIOUS IN HAMSTERS AND CAUSED SCRAPIE. THIS RESEARCH IS A MAJOR STEP IN UNDERSTANDING HOW THESE DEADLY PROTEINS FORM AND BRINGS US A STEP CLOSER TO BEING ABLE TO PREVENT OR TREAT PRION DISEASES ONE DAY. YOU CAN CHECK OUT THESE AND OTHER STORIES AT THE “NIH RESEARCH MATTERS” HOME PAGE. GO TO WWW-DOT-NIH-DOT-GOV. LOOK FOR THE LINK IN THE LEFT-HAND COLUMN THAT SAYS, “E-COLUMN: NIH RESEARCH MATTERS.” AND JOE, THE COVER STORY THIS MONTH IN OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER, “NIH NEWS IN HEALTH,” IS ABOUT PREGNANCY. WHEN A BABY’S ON THE WAY, MOMS-TO-BE ARE OFTEN OVERWHELMED BY ADVICE AND WARNINGS FROM FAMILY, FRIENDS AND EVEN STRANGERS. BUT PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE IS TO STAY AS HEALTHY AS POSSIBLE BEFORE AND DURING YOUR PREGNANCY. YOU CAN READ TIPS ABOUT BOOSTING YOUR CHANCE FOR A HEALTHY PREGNANCY AND OTHER HEALTH TOPICS IN “NIH NEWS IN HEALTH” AT NEWS-IN-HEALTH-DOT-NIH-DOT-GOV. THIS IS HARRISON WEIN AT THE NIH SCIENCE DESK. HOST: THANK YOU HARRISON! FOR OUR FIRST FEATURE, WE TURN OUR EYES TO THE SKY TO SEE WHAT DANGERS COME FROM THE SUN. WE LEARN IT’S NOT THE LIGHT THE SUN PRODUCES, BUT THE ULTRA VIOLET RAYS… KATZ: AN ULTRA VIOLET RAY IS AN ELECTROMAGNETIC RAY THAT IS SHORTER THAN VISIBLE LIGHT. V/O: DR. STEPHEN KATZ IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS AND MUSCULOSKELETAL AND SKIN DISEASES. KATZ: UV B IS THE MOST DAMAGING OF THE ULTRA VIOLET RAYS BECAUSE IT GETS THROUGH EARTH’S SURFACE AND UV B CAN CAUSE SUNBURN TO A MUCH GREAT EXTENT THAN UV A CAUSES ANY PROBLEMS… UV A CAN CAUSE IMMEDIATE PIGMENTATION… IT’S UV B THAT SUN SCREENS ARE GEARED TO BLOCKING BECAUSE THAT’S THE MAJOR FORM THAT CAUSES SUNBURN. V/O: AND SUNBURN – SUN EXPOSURE – CAN LEAD TO SKIN CANCER. DIGIOVANNA: THERE IS A HUGE AMOUNT OF EVIDENCE THAT RELATES SUN EXPOSURE AND UV RADIATION TO SKIN CANCER AND IT COMES FROM MANY DIFFERENT LINES OF EVIDENCE. WE KNOW THAT IN ANIMAL STUDIES WE CAN ACTUALLY SHINE LIGHT ON ANIMALS AND CAUSE SKIN CANCER. V/O: THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE’S DR. JOHN DIGIOVANNA: DIGIOVANNA: THIS YEAR, ITS PREDICTED OVER A MILLION SKIN CANCERS IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE. AT THAT RATE, WE EXPECT THAT ONE OUT OF FIVE AMERICANS WILL DEVELOP SKIN CANCER IN THEIR LIFETIME. IT’S HELPFUL TO THINK ABOUT SKIN CANCER IN A FEW DIFFERENT WAYS BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT THAT IT HAS. OF THOSE MILLION SKIN CANCERS THAT OCCUR, ABOUT THREE QUARTERS WILL BE BASIL CELL CARCINOMA. THAT’S A VERY COMMON… USUALLY APPEARS AS A SMALL BUMP, AND MAY BLEED… GENERAL BASIL CELL CARCINOMAS ARE VERY EASY TO DEAL WITH… USUALLY MINOR SURGERY; THEY DON’T SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE BODY; PEOPLE VERY RARELY HAVE A PROBLEM THAT AFFECTS THEIR LIFE WITH THAT. ABOUT 20 PERCENT OF THOSE MILLION CANCERS WILL BE SCRAMA CELL CARCINOMA. AND THOSE ALSO GENERALLY OCCUR IN SUN EXPOSED AREAS… REMAIN WHERE THEY START BUT THEY DO HAVE A RISK OF METASTASIS… THEY MAY SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE BODY AND POST A RISK TO PEOPLE’S LIVES. A LITTLE OVER 100 THOUSAND OF THOSE MILLION SKIN CANCERS WILL BE MELANOMA. AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT REALLY SCARE PEOPLE BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO DIE FROM SKIN CANCER… ABOUT TEN THOUSAND A YEAR IN THE US DIE FROM SKIN CANCER… ABOUT HALF OF THOSE HUNDRED THOUSAND MELANOMAS ARE VERY EARLY… AT THE MOST SUPERFICIAL LAYER OF THE SKIN AND VERY EASY TO REMOVE. BUT ABOUT HALF OF THEM, 50K, WILL BE INVASIVE… A BIT OF MORE CONCERN BECAUSE THEY CAN METASTASIZE… JOE: ANOTHER SUN-RELATED HEALTH CONCERN IS CATARACT. DR. EMILY CHEW EXPLAINS THAT THE NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE IS INVESTIGATING WHAT ROLE UV RAYS HAVE IN RELATION TO EYE HEALTH. CHEW: THAT’S ALWAYS A VERY INTERESTING QUESTION. A NUMBER OF STUDIES HAVE LOOKED AT UV, IN PARTICULAR CATARACT. WE KNOW ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RISK FACTORS IS AGE - AGE IS SOMETHING WE CAN’T AVOID. BUT OTHER FACTORS… LIKE SMOKING… UV HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH CERTAIN TYPES OF CATARACT… SUNGLASSES MAY BE IMPORTANT. V/O: ANOTHER IMPORTANT LINE OF PROTECTION IS SUN SCREEN. KATZ: SUN SCREENS DO WORK, SOME SUNSCREENS WORK BETTER THAN OTHERS… BUT CERTAINLY START WITH SPF AT LEAST 15, WHICH MEANS WHEN ONE TALKS ABOUT SPF… THAT’S A SUN PROTECTION FACTOR THAT PROTECTS YOU FROM UV B. IT ATTENUATES THE SUN. THAT IS, IT DOESN’T PROTECT YOU COMPLETELY, IT JUST DECREASES THE AMOUNT OF EACH RAY BY 15 TIMES FOR SPF 15, OR AN SPF 30 DECREASES IT BY 30. DIGIOVANNA: WE’VE REALLY HAD TREMENDOUS ADVANCES RECENTLY… WE HAVE GREAT SUNSCREENS… THE OLDER VERSIONS OF SUN SCREENS HAD PABA… IT WASN’T THE MOST USER FRIENDLY COMPOUND… ITS PROTECTION WAS NARROW… THIS YEAR IN PARTICULAR THERE ARE A NUMBER OF NEW PRODUCTS AND FORMULATIONS THAT HAVE COME OUT… THEY HAVE BROAD SPECTRUM PROTECTION AGAINST UV-A, LONG WAVE LIGHT… THEY’RE ALSO VERY COSMETICALLY ELEGANT; THEY HAVE A NICE FEEL, NOT GOOEY… THEY DON’T PLUG PORES… AND THEY ACTUALLY WORK QUITE WELL. JOE: BUT DIFFERENT PEOPLE REQUIRE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PROTECTION. AS DR. DIGIOVANNA POINTED OUT TO MY COWORKERS, LAUREN WADDEL AND WALLY AKINSO: DIGIOVANNA: INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE VERY LIGHT SKIN WHO BURN EASILY ARE PROBABLY MORE AT RISK TO DEVELOP SKIN CANCER IN SUN EXPOSED AREAS. AS OPPOSED TO FOR EXAMPLE MELANOMA ALSO OCCURS IN DARKER SKINNED INDIVIDUALS. IT HAS A HIGHER FREQUENCY IN CERTAIN BODY LOCATIONS THAT MAY NOT BE THOUGHT OF AS SUN EXPOSED. SO THE PALMS AND SOLES ARE AREAS IN ASIANS AND AFRICAN AMERICANS THAT WOULD HAVE A HIGH RISK OF MELANOMA. KATZ: THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO PROTECT ONESELF. ONE HAS TO BE REASONABLE IN WHAT YOU WANT TO DO BUT YOU AVOID THE MID DAY SUN FROM 10 TO 2 IF YOU CAN. IF YOU CAN’T THEN YOU PROTECT YOURSELF, PROTECT YOURSELF WITH A HAT; PROTECT YOURSELF WITH SUNSCREEN. JOE: OR PROTECT YOURSELF WITH TIGHT-WEAVE CLOTHES, AND FIND SHADE IF POSSIBLE. IT’S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT CLOUDS DON’T BLOCK ALL OF THE SUN’S DAMAGING UV B RAYS. EVEN ON AN OVERCAST DAY, YOU MAY NEED TO PROTECT YOUR SKIN. KATZ: WE’VE KNOWN FOR A LONG TIME UV B IS BAD FOR YOUR SKIN… UV B CAUSES BLISTERS IF YOU’RE OUT THERE FOR A LONG TIME. CHRONIC EXPOSURE CAUSES BIG TIME PROBLEMS. HOST: FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM UV RAYS, VISIT MEDLINEPLUS-DOT-GOV. ANOTHER CAUSE OF SUMMER SUFFERING IS ALLERGIES. HERE’S BONNIE FLOCK WITH A REPORT. HOST: THANK YOU BONNIE. FOR OUR EYE-TO-EYE INTERVIEW, WE TALK MORE WITH DR. EMILY CHEW, DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CLINICAL RESEARCH AT THE NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE. WE WONDERED HOW SHE GOT HER START HERE AT NIH… CHEW: I CAME FROM CANADA, TORONTO… TRAINED SPECIALIST…SO IT’S A WONDERFUL ENVIRONMENT IN THAT SENSE. JOE: CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE ABOUT THE LATEST RESEARCH GOING ON? CHEW: RIGHT NOW, IN TERMS OF MD, TRIAL GOING ON WHICH IS NATIONWIDE WHICH IS LOOKING AT VITAMINS AGAIN… NOW WE’RE LOOKING AT SOME NEW TREATMENTS… OMEGA 3… A MAJOR COMPONENT OF THE RETINAS… BUT THOSE ARE OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES…THE BEST THING OF COURSE IS THE CLINICAL TRIAL… SO IT’S PRETTY EXCITING WE HAVE ABOUT 80 FACILITIES ON BOARD… LEADING CAUSE OF BLINDNESS… ALONG PROCESS LEARN SO MUCH… JOE: WHAT EXACTLY IS MACULAR DEGENERATION? CHEW: SO, MACULAR DEGENERATION IS A COMMON CONDITION AND A NATURAL FACT. MACULAR REFERS TO THE CENTER PART OF THE RETINA… THAT’S WHAT YOU SEE BEST WITH. THE CENTER PART OF THE RETINA IS AFFECTED… AGE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RISK FACTURE… THERE’S A SLOW DROP OUT OF SEEING CELLS AND ACTUALLY LOOSE CENTRAL VISION… WET FORM, VERY ACUTE CHANGES THAT MAY RESULT IN DISTORTION VISION… BUT THE EARLY SIGNS ARE YELLOWS SPOTS… TOTALLY ASYMPTOMATIC… DOCTORS CAN PICK THAT UP… WHAT’S INTERESTING NOW IS THAT WE’VE PROVEN VITAMINS AND MINERALS MAY BE HELPFUL… SO IF WE CAN PICK UP IN AN EARLY STAGE IT WOULD BE GOOD TO USE VITAMIN AND MINERAL COMBINATION. CHEW: THE ACTUAL NUMBERS FOR MACULAR DEGENERATION, AS A PROPORTION OF POP, LOW, BUT IN ACTUAL FACT IT CAUSES THE VISION LOSS… WE ESTIMATE ALMOST 2 MILLION PEOPLE AND A MUCH LARGER WILL HAVE… APPROX 8 MILLION PEOPLE WILL GO ON… A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER… IT STARTS IN THE 40S AND 50S… CHEW: MACULAR DEGENERATION FOR EXAMPLE THE LAST TEN YEARS… THIS IS A DISEASE WHERE WE COULD ONLY PREVENT… NOW IMPROVE VISION. CHEW: YOU KNOW THERE ARE REALLY FOUR MAJOR CAUSES OF BLINDNESS. CATARACT AND MD… PEOPLE WHO ARE DIABETIC, THEY TEND TO HAVE… INCREASED RISK OF CATARACT. THERE’S AN INCREASED RISK OF CATARACT WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIABETES. (11:58) CHEW: CATARACT, YOU KNOW… GIVING YOU ANATOMY 101 COURSE HERE, THE FRONT OF THE EYE IS LIKE A WATCH CLASS… THAT’S WHAT GETS REMOVED…CAUSES VISION TO BE BLURRY… GLARE AT NIGHTTIME. SO CATARACT IS VERY, VERY COMMON… HARD TO AVOID… TRIED WITH VITAMINS… CHEW: AND AGAIN I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE GOOD EYE HEALTH… RISK OF BLINDNESS CAN BE LOWERED TREMENDOUSLY IF PATIENTS ARE BEING SEEN REGULARLY BY THE EYE CARE PROVIDER. CHEW: CERTAINLY BY THE TIME YOU’RE AGE SIXTY YOU SHOULD… IF YOU’RE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND YOU HAVE A HISTORY OF GLACOUMA YOU SHOULD BE SEEN MORE OFTEN. BUT BEFORE THAT… YOU SHOULD BE CHECKED THEN. HOST: THANKS FOR WATCHING…FOR “i ON NIH” I’M JOE BALINTFY. V/O: “i ON NIH” IS A PUBLIC SERVICE VODCAST FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, PRODUCED BY THE NIH NEWS MEDIA BRANCH OF THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC LIAISON. THANKS FOR TUNING IN. WE’LL BE BACK NEXT MONTH WITH ANOTHER EPISODE OF “i ON NIH.”  NIH Vodcast Questions? |
