Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease Linked to Fungus

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From Rutgers Today – November 11, 2013.

Rutgers researcher and CEED member Joan Bennett’s work on indoor mold exposure follows her own illness suffered while cleaning up flood damage from Hurricane Katrina.

Scientists at Rutgers and Emory universities have discovered that a compound often emitted by mold may be linked to symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Arati Inamdar and Joan Bennett, researchers in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers, used fruit flies to establish the connection between the compound – popularly known as mushroom alcohol – and the malfunction of two genes involved in the packaging and transport of dopamine, the chemical released by nerve cells to send messages to other nerve cells in the brain.

[Read the full story here.]
 November 11, 2013

Rise in Falls and Fractures Among Elderly After Superstorm Sandy

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From Rutgers Today – November 11, 2013.

A report co-authored by Rutgers researcher and CEED member Sue Shapses warns of the dangers extended power outages can pose to older New Jerseyans.

Everyone knows Superstorm Sandy left many New Jersey homes and businesses battered and bruised. But most are not aware of the considerable toll the storm and its aftermath took on our state’s residents.

“With disasters, there are things beyond the obvious,” said Rutgers’ Sue Shapses, a professor in the department of Nutrition and chair of the Interagency Council of Osteoporosis. “There are real health hazard risks, especially falling and fracturing. And it’s especially a problem for our elderly population.”

[Read the full story here.]
 November 11, 2013