Tufts researcher reinforces link between vitamin E and cataract treatment
Professor Dr. Paul F. Jacques at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy spoke on the benefits of vitamin E at a health and science writers' workshop on vitamin E and health at the New York Academy of Sciences. The event was sponsored by the Council for Responsible Nutrition.
"Almost half of all Americans experience visual disability from cataracts," Jacques said. He explained that a cataract is a clouding of the lens characterized by an accumulation of damaged lens proteins.
The protein accumulation disrupts the normally uniform density within the fiber cells of the lens, causing light refraction. This then interferes with the transmission of light to the retina.
"We have evidence that a cataract is the result of oxidation of constituents of the lens fiber cells." That process of oxidation might explain why vitamin E, an antioxidant, would have a beneficial effect on cataracts.
"The results of my past and ongoing studies, as well as studies by other investigators, show that individuals who consume vitamin E supplements or who have higher plasma concentrations of vitamin E have a lower risk of cataract, particularly cataract in the lens nucleus," Jacques said.
Jacques is Director of the Nutritional Epidemiology Program, and Senior Scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.
Tufts dean pushes for laboratory in Grafton
Associate Dean of Administration and Finance at Tufts' School of Veterinary Medicine, Joe McManus, took many North Grafton, Mass. officials by surprise in December when he asked them to approve his efforts to build a Bio Safety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory on the Tufts Veterinary School campus in town.
The North Grafton Board of Selectmen turned him down, worried about what work would go on in that laboratory and what threat it posed to the public, according to the MetroWest Daily News.
McManus has not dropped the issue, stating to the News recently that "most teaching hospitals, medical schools and veterinary schools have BSL-3 labs. These aren't a rare or scary thing. They're commonplace throughout the country."
According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the BSL-3 labs are used to "study agents that can be transmitted through the air and cause potentially lethal infection."
Tufts planned to use part of the $150 million grant from the government, used to build safer and cleaner biochemical laboratories across the country, in conjunction with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to build a lab in Chicopee, Mass.
According to the News, the University of Massachusetts backed down from the offer.
The Board of Selectmen remains very concerned about the project. "In the climate we're in today ... we automatically envision our worst fears," said Chairwoman Sue Millis. "People want the town's assurance and Tufts' assurance that we're not putting them in harm's way by putting this in their neighborhood."
McManus plans to answer all the questions the Board posed and hopes to begin construction on the lab within the next year.
-- Compiled by Anthony McGovern and Brian McPartland from Tufts E-News and the Metro West Daily News
