This time of year is perfect for catching up on local physiology news. For the next few posts, we are going to take a tour around the country to learn what’s going on in some of the chapters of the American Physiological Society…

First stop: the Missouri Physiological Society, otherwise known as “mophys”. Mophys is an independent chapter of the American Physiological Society. They held their annual meeting on September 30th at St. Louis University. Here are the highlights:

The Keynote address was presented by Dr. John Thyfault, Professor from the University of Kansas Medical Center. His research examines how physical inactivity leads to chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, as well as fatty liver disease.

Other highlights:

Dr. Nathan Kerr, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Missouri, presented research examining how muscle atrophy, resulting from physical inactivity, can lead to symptoms similar to Alzheimer’s disease. This is a major concern as many adults are not meeting current physical activity recommendations and elderly individuals are at risk of losing muscle mass, which can increase the risk of falls.

Sophia Kington presented research exploring how light may be used to help protect swallowing in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Difficulty swallowing is a major concern in people with ALS as it can increase the risk of death by close to eight-fold. The issue is caused by degeneration of nerves that control movement of the tongue. Researchers are exploring whether certain wavelengths of light can be used to activate the nerves.

Lisa Hagena, graduate student at Saint Louis University, presented research examining how hypoglycemia unawareness develops. This is a serious condition in which people do not feel any symptoms, such as hunger or weakness, when they have low blood sugar. This inability to sense low blood sugar is dangerous and can lead to hypoglycemic shock. It is most common in people who are taking insulin to treat type 1 diabetes resulting in frequent episodes of hypoglycemia such that their body gets used to it.

Emily Hoffman, veterinary student at Saint Louis University, examined how Lasix works to treat exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage in horses. In some horses, intense exercise causes blood to leak into the airways. Aside from avoiding intense exercise, the condition is typically treated with Lasix.

Zachary Foulks, graduate student at Saint Louis University, presented research examining how ketogenic diets work to prevent, and possibly reverse, heart failure in animal models.

Sam Hogue, an undergraduate student at Saint Louis University, shared their research examining how the temperature cricket frogs were raised in affects their resistance to water loss, which is a major concern for an amphibian living in increasingly warm or dry environments.

• What do you get when you cross a dog and a fox?
• Physiology on the Road: “Physiology in Ohio, The Heart of it All!”

Categories: Diet and Exercise, Exercise, Illnesses and Injuries, Physiology on the Road

Tags: ALS, Alzheimer's disease, cricket frog, Diabetes, Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, frog, heart failure, horse, hypoglycemia, ketogenic diet, Lasix, Missouri, muscle atrophy, physical inactivity