Portland Observer Thursday, June 28,1980 Section II Page 13
OSU monkey business
Funded by an 584,840 gram form
the National Institute of Aging,
assistant professor Esturo Uemura
is employing sensitive computer
technology to analyze the human
brain’s neuronal processes, and the
changes that occur over time in the
composition of the brain’s
ribonucleic acid (RNAl, which is
responsible for the protein synthesis
in cell bodies.
Subjects of the study are rhesus
monkeys -- small, brownish-
colored, short-tailed primates native
to India -- that are housed at the
University of Wisconsin’s Primate
Research Center in Madison.
“ Most of the monkeys we use are
born and raised at the Primate
Research C enter,” said Uemura,
"S o we know their complete
histories, what medical problems
there have been and what
medications have been ad­
ministered. Whereas, with humans,
you never know for sure what type
of medical problems there were,
what the medical histories were.”
Uemura said another reason for
using rhesus monkeys is the absence
of neuro-fibrillary tangles and senile
plaque in the prim ates’ brain
tissues.
The tangles and plaque are
lesions, pathological alterations of
nerve cells, that are often found in
old human brain tissue and also in
the brain tissue of persons suffering
from dementia, where the intellect­
ual faculties have deteriorated.
" It has been hypothesized that
some of the aging changes we see in
humans are associated with those
lesions,” said Uemura. "But I can
see the same type ot aging changes
in the rhesus monkey which has an
absence ol these lesions. That seems
to indicate the neurofibrillary
tangles have nothing to do with the
aging process, but rather are a
byproduct unique to the aging
human brain."
Monkeys and com puter tech­
nology are being utilized to study
the aging processes of the human
brain in research being conducted at
Oregon State University’s school of
veterinary medicine.
"What I'm interested in,” added
Uemura, " a re the neuronal
processes and how these processes
change as we get older. A brain’s
neuron is like a tree, with branches
going up and roots descending
down. It has been clearly established
that these neurons, like a tree, con­
tinue to branch out and down as we
mature.”
“ But what happens when we
reach our 70s and 80s? My study in­
dicates the rhesus brain continues to
m aintain its neuronal processes
during adulthood, but the shor­
tening and debranching of neuronal
processes appears to be an inevitable
phenomenon for those older
monkeys over 28 years of age, which
is equivalent of a human 84 years
old.”
Uemura is also interested in the
change that occurs in the brain's
RNA as a person gets older.
"In humans, we have found there
is a drastic decrease -- about 20 per­
cent -- in the amount of RNA
present in the brain as we get older,
particularly in persons over 60.
We've found the same thing hap­
pening in rhesus monkeys, which
indicates some metabolic change oc-
curing in old neurons.”
In his research, Uemura is em­
ploying computerized laboratory
equipment that allows hint to
analyze changes in neuronal
processes and in RNA on a single­
cell basis.
“ The problem with using a
microscope as your primary tool is
you can miss very minute changes,"
he said. " I t ’s a difficult process.
even for a highly trained
pathologist.”
"B u t with a computerized
microscope, we can detect minute
changes of neuronal processes and
analyze the quantity of ribonucleic
acid. I can take a single nerve cell
from a specific area, and I know
where that neuron came from and I
can tell what quantity and quality of
RNA is there.”
“ So the changes I’m observing
are changes in RNA per cell, rather
than per area. Using computer
technology gives the research a
preciseness that is invaluable, and
which was unavailable up until a
few years ago,” added Uemura.
The Black M a rk et. ..
— a market you can ’t afford to ignore!
A lfred l . H enderson
Editor/Publisher
• An estimated 50,000 Blacks living in the Portland area.
• An increase in Black students in the Portland Public Schools from
8 percent in 1968 to 14.5 percent in 1978.
• A 50 percent increase in Black purchasing power since 1970.
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