CONTACT: Doug Carlson, College of Medicine
doug.carlson@med.fsu.edu, (850) 645-1255

October 2018

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — While women have long been warned about the dangers of smoking during pregnancy, far less has been known about risks for offspring of men who smoke.

A new Florida State University College of Medicine study in mice produced results that suggest nicotine exposure in men could lead to cognitive deficits in their children and grandchildren. Further studies will be required to know if the same outcomes seen in mice would apply to humans.

“Our data raise the possibility that some of the cognitive disabilities found in today’s generation of children and adults may be attributable to adverse environmental insults suffered a generation or two ago,” said Pradeep Bhide, the Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers Eminent Scholar Chair of Developmental Neuroscience at the College of Medicine.

“Cigarette smoking was more common and more readily accepted by the population in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s compared to today. Could that exposure be revealing itself as a marked rise in the diagnoses of neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and autism?”

The results were published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

The study found that changes in the father’s sperm attributed to nicotine exposure led to problems in genes that play a role in memory and learning. These epigenetic changes are believed to be temporary, Bhide said, though some could be long-lasting. More research is needed to understand how long the changes last, he said.

Bhide and College of Medicine colleagues Deirdre McCarthy and Cynthia Vied recently received a three-year National Institutes of Health grant to support additional work on molecular mechanisms underlying transgenerational transmission of the effects of paternal nicotine exposure.

Nicotine’s harmful effects for cells in the lungs and brain are part of the body of evidence cited in the orders doctors give to avoid smoking. Absent in the conversation has been research demonstrating how nicotine affects germ cells — or changes DNA in the sperm.

Nicotine exposure for women is recognized as a significant risk factor for behavioral disorders such as ADHD. With men, there has not previously been enough evidence to separate genetic risk factors from environmental influences.

“Doctors may not warn men that their smoking could be harming their unborn child even if the mother never smoked,” Bhide said. “I believe our study brings this to the fore.”

McCarthy exposed male mice to low-dose nicotine in their drinking water during the stage of development when they are producing sperm. The mice were then bred with female mice never exposed to nicotine.

Though the fathers displayed normal behavioral tendencies, both their male and female offspring displayed hyperactivity, attention deficit and cognitive inflexibility.

“In analyzing spermatozoa from the father we found multiple genes with epigenetic changes,” McCarthy said. “This includes the dopamine D2 gene, which has an important role in brain development and learning. This is the likely source for the cognitive deficits found in their descendants.”

While the study was done in mice, previous studies on maternal nicotine exposure were consistent whether performed in mice or in women and children.

“I believe the findings from our study can be extrapolated to humans,” Bhide said.

CONTACT: Ron Hartung, College of Medicine
ronald.hartung@med.fsu.edu, (850) 645-9205

October 2018

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — It’s a million-dollar question: Why do people with Latino backgrounds have a 50 percent greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than non-Latino whites?

FSU College of Medicine researcher Angelina Sutin will seek answers as principal investigator on a $3.8 million grant from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health. For the next five years, she’ll be studying midlife cognitive aging in Latinos, looking for predictors and mechanisms of decline.

To address this question, she’ll partner with researchers at the University of California, Davis, who have already collected years’ worth of data on Latino families that they can analyze for clues.

“The group at UC Davis has a great wealth of information on a sample of families that they have been following for 10 years,” said Sutin, an associate professor in the FSU College of Medicine’s Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine. “It is unusual to have such rich data, especially in a population that is underrepresented in dementia research. It’s a unique opportunity to try to answer questions that may help improve interventions to maintain cognitive function.”

Her team will study about 1,000 adults of Mexican origin who’ve been participating in the California Families Project for 10 years. They’ll try to identify psychological, social, environmental and socioeconomic risk factors for poor cognitive outcomes. The ultimate goal is to find risk and resilience factors and appropriate points of intervention to help improve those outcomes.

Sutin noted that midlife is a particularly important, yet understudied, period for cognitive aging.

“I’m really excited about this project,” she said. “It’s a high-risk population, so being able to identify these factors that can help improve outcomes is the number one priority.

“We’re going to use the extensive and rich data that has already been collected and pair it with a comprehensive cognitive assessment in midlife and other new measures, including accelerometers to measure physical activity. We’re going to look at how psychological, social and behavioral patterns can hurt cognition and identify patterns that help maintain cognitive function.”

Sutin said this project could have both health and economic benefits.

“The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the Latino population is expected to increase nine-fold over the next 50 years,” she said. “In addition to the patient, the burden of Alzheimer’s takes a significant toll on families, their communities and the health care system.”

MEDIA ADVISORY

CONTACT: Melissa Powell, College of Medicine
(850) 645-9699; melissa.powell@med.fsu.edu

Sept. 26, 2018
 

Dance Marathon at Florida State University and Children’s Miracle Network at University of Florida Health Shands Children’s Hospital will present a check for more than $1 million to the FSU College of Medicine for the benefit of children throughout Gadsden and Leon counties.

The proceeds are part of the record $2.15 million raised earlier this year by Dance Marathon, the largest student-run philanthropy on the FSU campus. That money supports the FSU College of Medicine’s pediatric outreach programs and the Children’s Miracle Network at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital in Gainesville.

Set to participate are John P. Fogarty, dean of the FSU College of Medicine; representatives from UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital and from the organizations receiving funds; members of the Dance Marathon student executive committee; and students from the medical school’s Pediatrics Interest Group.

The presentation will take place:

 The money invested locally supports a school-based, primary-care health clinic at three schools in Gadsden County, where children often have inadequate access to care. The clinics represent a partnership among the College of Medicine, the Gadsden County Health Department and Gadsden County Schools.

The College of Medicine shared funds in 2018 with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare to support pediatric critical-care services. Additional funds to support children have been provided to Bond Community Health Center, Big Bend Hospice and the Young Parents Project at Early Head Start.

Directions to the FSU College of Medicine: From downtown, travel west on Tennessee Street and turn left on Stadium Drive. Parking is available in the parking garage at Stadium Drive and Spirit Way.