Office of Dietary Supplements Expands Research Support

[Carolyn Gleason]

FYI, some interesting research in the area of dietary supplemenation.

______________________________ Forward Header __________________________________
Subject: OFFICE OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS EXPANDS RESEARCH SUPPORT
Author:  "Rodrigues; Dennis (OD)" <RodriguD at OD31TM1.OD.NIH.GOV> at INTERNET
Date:    10/5/98 10:10 AM


NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

Office of Dietary Supplements

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 1, 1998


CONTACT:  Rebecca B. Costello, Ph.D.
Office of Dietary Supplements
(301) 435-2920


OFFICE OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS EXPANDS RESEARCH SUPPORT

The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) today announced
the funding of four new research grants and the
continuation of support for three existing grants to
explore the potential role of dietary supplements in health
promotion and disease prevention.  These new projects bring
to 13 the number of studies that have been funded by the
ODS in conjunction with selected NIH Institutes through the
NIH Research Enhancement Awards Program.

The NIH Research Enhancement Awards Program (REAP),
originally designed by the NIH Office of Research on
Women's Health, is a process whereby investigator-initiated
grant applications are received and reviewed through the
standard NIH peer review process.  Highly meritorious
applications that fall at the border of an Institute's
funding resources and are within the research interests of
the ODS can be nominated by NIH Institutes to receive full
or partial funding from ODS.

"These four grants, continue to move the ODS into new
exciting scientific areas about dietary supplements and
health," said Dr. Bernadette M. Marriott, Director of the
ODS.  "We're enthusiastic about the positive response the
Institutes continued to give the REAP program and their
interest in partnering with the ODS in support of these
important projects."

In conjunction with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the ODS is funding a project at
Brown University to evaluate in a tribe of rural Native
Americans a possible link between the susceptibility for
problems associated with alcohol abuse and low
neurotransmitter levels of serotonin.  Low serotonin levels
may be a result of low dietary intakes of the amino acid
tryptophan, which, in turn, can result from a habitual diet
high in carbohydrates and low in quality proteins.  Some
Native American populations may be at risk for alcohol-
related problems due to inadequate consumption of
tryptophan or one of the micronutrients that convert
tryptophan to serotonin.

The National Institute of Dental Research and the ODS will
cosponsor a project at the Harvard University School of
Dental Medicine that will examine the relationship between
oral health and coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke.
The main hypothesis is that tooth loss leads to poor
chewing ability, which may result in a reduced intake of
dietary antioxidants and fiber, and, in turn, increase the
risk of CHD.  It is known that tooth loss affects the
composition of one's diet and diet has been shown to be a
modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The
study will examine dental health, diet, and nutrient
supplement consumption data obtained from more than 50,000
men and 90,000 women currently enrolled in other studies
funded by the NIAAA, the National Cancer Institute (NCI),
and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Studying
the potential relationship between dental disease, which is
exceedingly common, and cardiovascular disease, which
remains the leading cause of death in all developed
countries, is of great importance to public health. The
proposed study could provide important new approaches for
the prevention of CHD and stroke.

The ODS and the National Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders will cosponsor a study at Florida
State University to examine the actions of zinc and copper,
two metals that are essential to proper brain development
and function. The appropriate balance of these metals in
the body is strongly influenced by dietary components.
Deficiencies or excesses of copper and zinc have been
associated with a number of neuropathologic diseases of
aging in humans, such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, and
stroke.  The primary goal of these basic research studies
is to explore the regulatory actions of zinc and copper and
their effect on the nervous system.

In cooperation with the National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the ODS is funding a new
project at Georgetown University that will focus on the
role and action of metallothionein, a key enzyme that
regulates levels of zinc in different tissues throughout
the body.  This research may offer unique insights into the
role of specific gene products and their effect on
nutrition and metabolism.

The ODS will continue to cosponsor three studies initially
funded through its 1997 REAP Awards.  The ODS and the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
are cosponsoring a project at the Baylor College of
Medicine in Houston, Texas to measure the benefits of
intestinal supplementation of three amino acids - -
glutamate, glycine and cysteine - - in infants with
ineffective intestinal metabolic function. The study will
help clarify the role of these key amino acids in
inhibition and stimulation of glutathione synthesis in the
intestinal tract. Glutathione is a substance that may have
a protective effect against dietary and bacterial toxins
found in infants whose intestinal function may be impaired
by disease.

The ODS and NCI will continue to fund a project at the
State University of New York Health Sciences Center, Stony
Brook to study the possible risks and benefits of
supplementation of cancer patients with the amino acid, L-
arginine. Results of these studies on how arginine
supplements influence protein synthesis rates and cell
proliferation will provide new information on the role of
this amino acid in tumor stimulation and suppression.

A project at the University of Texas Medical Branch,
Galveston, Texas on the role of antioxidants in cataract
development in persons with diabetes is being cosponsored
by the National Eye Institute and ODS. A key aim of this
study will be to determine if antioxidants act to detoxify
specific compounds produced in the lens of humans and
animal models.

The Office of Dietary Supplements was established at NIH in
November 1995 as a result of the Dietary Supplement Health
and Education Act passed by Congress in 1994.  The goals of
ODS are to explore more fully the potential role of dietary
supplements as a significant part of the efforts of the
United States to improve health care; to promote scientific
study of dietary supplements in maintaining health and
preventing chronic disease; and to conduct and coordinate
scientific research within the National Institutes of
Health relating to dietary supplements.  The ODS expects to
continue to fund investigator-initiated awards through the
REAP program as a means to expand research opportunities in
the area of dietary supplements.


NIH OFFICE OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS
Research Enhancement Awards Program (REAP) Awards, FY 98

Continuing Research Projects

Project Title: Oxidative Damage in Sugar-Induced
Cataractogenesis
Principal Investigator(s): Naseem Ansari, Ph.D.
Institution:  University of Texas Medical Branch
Galveston, TX
NIH Institute: NEI

Project Title: Metabolic Implication of Dietary Arginine
Supplements
Principal Investigator(s): Peter J. Garlick, Ph.D.
Institution:  State University of New York, Health Sciences
Center
Stony Brook, NY
NIH Institute: NCI

Project Title: Parenteral Nutrition and Mucosal Amino Acid
Metabolism
Principal Investigator(s): Peter J. Reeds, Ph.D.
Institution:  Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
NIH Institute: NICHD

New Research Projects

Project Title: Tryptophan and Native American Alcoholism
Principal Investigator(s): Walter R. Adams, Ph.D.
Institution:  Brown University, Providence, RI
NIH Institute: NIAAA

Project Title: Chronic Dental Disease and Cardiovascular
Disease
Principal Investigator(s): Kaumudi Joshipura, BDS, D.Sc.
Institution: Harvard University, School of Dental Medicine
Cambridge, MA
NIH Institute: NIDR

Project Title: Modulation of Olfactory Circuits
Principal Investigator(s): Paul Q. Trombley, Ph.D.
Institution: Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
NIH Institute: NIDCD

Project Title: Zinc Kinetics in Metallothionein Knockout
Mice
Principal Investigator(s): Meryl Wastney, Ph.D.
Institution: Georgetown University Medical
School,Washington, D.C.
NIH Institute: NIDDK


The Office of Dietary Supplements was established at NIH in
November 1995 as a result of the Dietary Supplement Health
and Education Act passed by Congress in 1994.  The goals of
ODS are to explore more fully the potential role of dietary
supplements as a significant part of the efforts of the
United States to improve health care; promote scientific
study of the benefits of dietary supplements in maintaining
health and chronic disease; and conduct and coordinate
scientific research within the National Institutes of
Health relating to dietary supplements.
Received: from smtp.psc.dhhs.gov ([158.72.7.77]) by boris.psc.dhhs.gov with SMTP
  (IMA Internet Exchange 3.01 Enterprise) id 0002B145; Mon, 5 Oct 98 10:20:11
-0400
Received: from list.nih.gov (165.112.130.6) by smtp.psc.dhhs.gov (LSMTP for
Windows NT v1.1a) with SMTP id <0.9709C280 at smtp.psc.dhhs.gov>; Mon, 5 Oct 1998
10:19:09 -0400
Received: from list.nih.gov (terrific.net.nih.gov [165.112.130.6])
    by list.nih.gov (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id KAA20910;
    Mon, 5 Oct 1998 10:10:47 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from LIST.NIH.GOV by LIST.NIH.GOV (LISTSERV-TCP/IP release 1.8c) with
          spool id 5224328 for HHSPRESS at LIST.NIH.GOV; Mon, 5 Oct 1998 10:10:23
          -0400
Received: from central.hub.nih.gov (central.hub.nih.gov [128.231.90.100]) by
          list.nih.gov (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id KAA20812 for
          <HHSPRESS at list.nih.gov>; Mon, 5 Oct 1998 10:10:21 -0400 (EDT)
Received: by central.hub.nih.gov with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2232.9) id
          <41QNDPXM>; Mon, 5 Oct 1998 10:10:21 -0400
X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2232.9)
Message-ID:  <622CE20EA080D111A3B60000BC0E0E11016420F4 at odexc2.od.nih.gov>
Date:         Mon, 5 Oct 1998 10:10:17 -0400
Reply-To: "Rodrigues, Dennis (OD)" <RodriguD at OD31TM1.OD.NIH.GOV>
Sender: "US Dept of HHS: Press Releases, Other Info" 
              <HHSPRESS at LIST.NIH.GOV>
From: "Rodrigues, Dennis (OD)" <RodriguD at OD31TM1.OD.NIH.GOV>
Subject:      OFFICE OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS EXPANDS RESEARCH SUPPORT
To: HHSPRESS at LIST.NIH.GOV