Browsing by Author "Walters, Kamilah"

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    A Double-Blind Trial of Adjunctive Valacyclovir to Improve Cognition in Early Phase Schizophrenia
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2015-04-17) Walters, Kamilah; Mehdiyoun, Nicole; Francis, Michael; Breier, Alan
    Schizophrenia is a chronic and debilitating neuropsychiatric disease that occurs in approximately one percent of the population and is characterized by cognitive deficits, including difficulties with abstract thinking, discerning reality from fiction, and communication. Cognitive deficits are a prominent feature of the illness and contribute to significant occupational and social disabilities. Additionally, there are no clinically effective treatments for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Although the etiology of these symptoms is unknown, recent studies have shown an association between Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1) exposure and the severity of cognitive deficits in the schizophrenic population. Valacyclovir is an oral antiviral medication approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for treatment of herpes virus infections, including HSV-1. Results from a pilot study at the University of Pittsburgh show that treatment with adjunctive valacyclovir improved working and visual memory in comparison to placebo in a population of older adults with chronic phase schizophrenia. The primary goal of the main study is to determine the efficacy of adjunctive valacyclovir to improve cognition by studying visual and working memory in HSV-1 positive early phase schizophrenia patients in a multi-site clinical trial coordinated by the Indiana University Psychotic Disorders Program. The aim of this research is to present a comprehensive review of recent findings regarding the importance of HSV-1 exposure and inflammatory markers in schizophrenia, and to discuss the methods and expected outcomes of our ongoing study.
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    Nicotine Effects Surface Bound Enolase on Streptococcus mutans and Its Binding to Human Plasminogen
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2013-04-05) Walters, Kamilah; Gregory, Richard L.
    Streptococcus mutans is the major bacterial agent responsible for dental caries. Previous research has shown that smokers have increased caries and that nicotine increases biofilm formation of S. mutans. S. mutans is also associated with atherosclerosis, another disease commonly found in smokers. However, little research has been done to investigate the direct effect of nicotine on the ability of S. mutans to bind to endothelial cells and lead to atherosclerosis. The two objectives of this study were to determine how nicotine affects the level of enolase, a glycolytic enzyme, on the surface of S. mutans, and next to determine its effect on binding of treated bacteria to human plasminogen, a protein present in the bloodstream. S. mutans strain UA159 was grown overnight in tryptic soy broth treated with 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 mg/mL nicotine at 37◦C in 5% CO2. These cells were used to coat a microtiter plate, and various levels of surface bound enolase and binding to plasminogen were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). A preliminary trial showed increase in both surface bound enolase and binding to plasminogen with increasing nicotine concentration. Similar results are to be expected with repetition of this procedure, indicating that nicotine up-regulates the bacterial expression of enolase and its binding to plasminogen, probably through plasminogen binding receptors, contributing to the virulence of S. mutans. Knowledge of the attachment mechanisms of S. mutans in the presence of tobacco may aid in prevention of tobacco-related atherosclerosis.