HJNO Jan/Feb 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  JAN / FEB 2020 41 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalNO.com identification of the disease, compared to the current gold standard – a milestone important at both the bench and the bedside. “Intestinal AP is the first candidate diagnostic biomarker, unique in its predictive value for NEC,” reports Dr. Kim. “It is correlated only with NEC and is not associated with sepsis or other non-GI infections. The clinical potential of this noninva- sive tool lies in its use to identify infants most at risk to develop NEC, to facilitate management of feeding and antibiotic regimens, and monitor response to treatment.” Besides Kim, other members of the research team from LSU Health New Orleans included Drs. Maya Heath, Zeromeh Gerber, Brian Barkemeyer and Duna Penn in the Section of Neonatology in the Department of Pediatrics; Rebecca Buck- ley, PhD, and Porcha Davis in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; and Zhide Fang, PhD, in the Department of Biostatistics in the School of Public Health. Misty Good, MD, Laura Linneman, RN, and Qingqing Gong, PhD, from Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, also partici- pated in the research. The research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, March of Dimes, Louisiana Board of Regents, Children’s Discovery Institute at Wash- ington University and St. Louis Children’s Hos- pital, Department of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine, LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, and LSU Health Foundation. Kim is the founder of a spin-out company, Cho- sen Diagnostics Inc., whose business interests are related to this project. The company is consider- ing an option to license its diagnostic test devel- oped from this work. Good has financial rela- tionships with Abbott Laboratories and Astarte Medical Partners. “What began as a collaboration between bio- chemistry and pediatrics at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine to address a life- threatening condition has grown into a multi- center national partnership,” concludes Kim. “We are working hard here at LSU Health to create solutions for people in our state and to use our discoveries to help infants across the country.” LSUHealth Research Discovers Potential NewRx Target for AMD, Alzheimer’s Research led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Boyd professor and director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, found a new mechanism by which a class of molecules his lab discovered may protect brain and retinal cells against neu- rodegenerative diseases like age-related macu- lar degeneration and Alzheimer’s. Results, pub- lished in PNAS Latest Articles identify elovanoids as a potential new therapeutic approach for these devastating conditions. “It is the first report that elovanoids are poten- tial senolytic therapies because they target and dramatically arrest gene expression engaged in cell disturbances, including senescence gene programs and retina cell death in conditions that recapitulate retinal degenerative diseases,” noted Bazan, who also hold the Ernest C. and Yvette C. Villere Chair of Retinal Degenerative Diseases at LSU Health New Orleans. “Since the retina is key in age-related macular degenera- tion and is an integral part of the nervous system, the reported discoveries are also applicable to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenera- tive conditions.” As humans age, cells gradually function more sluggishly and eventually become senescent, los- ing their ability to divide and renew. While senes- cence can be beneficial earlier in life by among other things, aiding wound healing and prevent- ing tumor development, at older ages, tissues become littered with these dysfunctional cells, which then attract inflammatory immune cells. Along with accumulations of the toxic protein, Amyloid beta in brain and retinal tissues, the resultant chronic inflammation can lead to brain and photoreceptor cell death and the develop- ment of neurodegenerative diseases. In experimental models of age-related macu- lar degeneration (AMD) and Alzheimer’s disease, Bazan’s team found that elovanoids (bioactive chemical messengers made from omega-3 very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids) counter- acted these processes. These novel compounds target senescence genes, a key senescence protein, and the expression of senescence- related genes in the retinal pigment epithelial cells. Elovanoids also restored the structure and integrity of both the retinal epithelial and photo- receptor cells after being damaged by amyloid beta. Overall, they foster repair, remodeling and regeneration. “We demonstrate in the paper that the elova- noids block these events and foster the survival and function of these cells,” Bazan adds. The incidence of blinding retinal diseases and cognitive-decline is rising due to longer life expectancy. The magnitude of these illnesses is exacerbated since the consequences of sev- eral neurological conditions could set in motion dementia-like states such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, etc. Although the paper shows that elovanoids are protective for retina and likely brain as well, Bazan cautions that “further research is needed, particu- larly by using these models to define the intimacy of the gene transcription of senescence and the epigenomic implications of these findings.” He reasons that his lab is now “poised to define fur- ther novel unifying regulatory mechanisms that sustain health span during aging and neurode- generative diseases.” Outpatient Pilot Yields Reduction in Hospital Readmissions, ER Utilization A year-long, innovative outpatient behavioral health pilot has yielded an 84 percent reduction in hospital readmissions and a 58 percent reduction in ER visits, reducing costs, and increasing posi- tive health outcomes for participants. The pilot program, a joint endeavor of Oceans Healthcare and Medicaid health plan Louisiana Healthcare Connections, established an intensive outpatient treatment model for members who demonstrated a need for behavioral healthcare. Implemented at Oceans Behavioral Hospitals across Louisiana, the pilot yielded significant reductions in hospital admissions, readmissions, and emergency room use for Medicaid members enrolled in Louisiana Healthcare Connections. Oceans provided members with outpatient services that included intensive daily counsel- ing, relapse reduction strategies, and coordi- nated care management planning. These services enable patients with mental health diagnoses, such as schizophrenia and severe depression, to