Measles, Polio, COVID, AIDS, tick-borne encephalitis, Lyme disease, meningitis, yellow fever, and Ebola are examples of diseases that can be fatal and those who survive the infection may have long-term neurological disability resulting from damage to neural circuits caused by the virus or bacteria. Effective vaccines have been developed for all of these infectious diseases except AIDS for which vaccines against HIV are being developed. In this episode I talk with Dr. Kiran Thakur, Director of the Neuroinfectious Disease Program at Columbia University, about the impact of these infectious agents on the brain, the threat of their resurgence, and the importance of world-wide surveillance and vaccination programs to prevent mortality and long-term disability, and to prevent the emergence and spread of new strains of viruses and bacteria. We also discuss treatments for patients whose brains have been infected. Unfortunately, currently available treatments are in many instances not effective in reducing morbidity and mortality, a fact that bolsters the importance of vaccination.

LINKS

Thakur laboratory page:

https://www.neurology.columbia.edu/research/research-labs/thakur-lab

Review article on the global threat of vaccine-preventable neurological diseases:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41582-025-01172-w

Review article on long COVID:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41572-025-00674-7

Advances in treatments for neuroinfectious diseases:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11418331/pdf/10.1177_20499361241274246.pdf

Climate change, habitat degradation, and the emergence of new neuroinfectious agents:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11412215/pdf/10.1177_20499361241274206.pdf

Protein nitrosylation a process by which redox reactions of nitric oxide (NO) and proteins result in covalent modification of the sulfur in the amino acid cysteine resulting in S-nitrosothiol (SNO). In this episode I talk with Scripps Research Professor Stuart Lipton about his research career highlighting the discovery that protein nitrosylation occurs on numerous proteins in neurons and contributes to the dysfunction and degeneration of neurons in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Prior to his discovery of protein nitrosylation, Stuart worked to better understand the process of excitotoxicity which is involved in the demise of neurons in many neurological disorders. This work led to the development of the only drug – memantine – that slows the progression of Alzheimer's disease, albeit only somewhat. Recently, Stuart was awarded a grant to elucidate the effects of air pollution on the brain with a focus on the role of chemical reactions resulting in protein nitrosylation. Stuart and his team are now working to develop drugs that specifically prevent the chemical reactions that result in excessive protein nitrosylation as treatments for neurodegenerative disorders.

LINKS

Lipton's page at the Scripps:

https://www.scripps.edu/faculty/lipton/

Review articles

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11624102/pdf/nihms-2029640.pdf

https://www.nature.com/articles/nrd1958

Original research articles:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11892585/pdf/pnas.202418179.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2823371/pdf/nihms173661.pdf

Understanding how diet influences brain health is a very important area of research. During the past two decades there has been an exponential increase in research on the gut microbiome and its roles in health and disease. Diets high in fiber are not only improve gut health but may also be beneficial for other organ systems including the brain. Gut bacteria ferment dietary fibers resulting in the production of the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) butyrate, propionate, and acetate. In this episode I talk with University of Leuven scientist Boushra Dalile about her research aimed at understanding if and how SCFAs affect cognition and stress responses in humans. Her experiments have shown that SCFAs attenuate neuroendocrine stress responses and butyrate in particular enhances memory. We talk about actions of butyrate mediated by interaction with cell surface receptors and nuclear histone deacetylases, as well as effects on the vagus nerve as possible mechanisms of action.

LINKS

Dalile webpage at KU Leuven

https://ppw.kuleuven.be/lbp/Bramlab/People/00115135

Boushra's Instagram on cooking for a healthy gut microbiome

https://www.instagram.com/boushracooks/

Review article on SCFAs produced by gut bacteria and their effects on the brain

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41575-019-0157-3

Perspective on prebiotics and brain health

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11663957/pdf/main.pdf

Original research studies discussed in this podcast

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7784980/pdf/41386_2020_Article_732.pdf

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38199487/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38199487/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42557391/