Penny-per-ounce tax on sugar drinks could save $17 billion, cut consumption and prevent disease and death, academics say

More than $17 billion in medical costs over 10 years could be saved if sugared drinks were taxed at 1 cent per ounce, and it would prevent 95,000 cases of coronary heart disease, 8,000 strokes and 26,000 premature deaths, say researchers at Columbia University and the University of California.

The tax would mean an extra 12 cents per can or 20 cents per bottle, and would generate about $13 billion in annual tax revenue. The study, published in this month's HealthAffairs, found the consumption of sugary drinks, including soda, sports drinks like Gatorade and energy drinks like Red Bull, would be cut by 15 percent among adults ages 25 to 64.

"Even our conservative estimates show that a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages could substantially reduce the negative health and financial impacts of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Y. Claire Wang, assistant professor at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia  and lead author of the study. "Putting the money raised by the tax into efforts to prevent obesity and other health problems could potentially increase the impact of such a policy."

In 2009, Americans consumed 13.8 billion gallons of sugar-sweetened beverages, which translates to about 45 gallons per person. The average 20-ounce bottle of a sugar drink contains almost 17 teaspoons of sugar. (Read more)

Rising Star of Brain Found to Regulate Circadian Rhythms

Apr 14 2011

BOSTON (April 14, 2011, noon ET) — The circadian system that controls normal sleep patterns is regulated by a group of glial brain cells called astrocytes, according to a study published online on April 14th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. Neuroscientists from Tufts University School of Medicine found that disruption of astrocyte function in fruit flies (Drosophila) led to altered daily rhythms, an indication that these star-shaped glial cells contribute to the control of circadian behavior. These results provide, for the first time, a tractable genetic model to study the role of astrocytes in circadian rhythms and sleep disorders.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, more than 40 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders. Some sleep disorders arise from changes to the internal clock that is modulated by environmental signals, including light. Biologically, the internal clock is known to be composed of a network of neurons that controls rhythmic behaviors. Rob Jackson and his team previously had found that normal circadian rhythms require a glial-specific protein. In the new study, the team demonstrates that glia, and particularly astrocytes, are active cellular elements of the neural circuit that controls circadian rhythms in the adult brain.

“This is significant because glia have been traditionally viewed as support cells rather than independent elements that can regulate neurons and behavior. Neurons have had center stage for some time but current research is establishing the role of glial cells in brain function,” said Rob Jackson, PhD, professor of neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) and member of the genetics and neuroscience program faculties at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts. Jackson is also the director of the Center for Neuroscience Research (CNR) at TUSM.

“We used cellular and molecular genetic techniques to manipulate glial cells in the adult brain of fruit flies and found that such cells regulate neurons of the circadian network and behavior,” said first author Fanny Ng, PhD, a postdoctoral associate in the Jackson lab. Ng added, “this is the first study to show that glia can modulate the release of a neuronal factor that is essential for normal circadian behavior.”

Jackson’s team observed altered rhythms in locomotor activity with glial manipulations, an indication the circadian clock had been disrupted, which in humans can contribute to jet lag or serious sleep disorders.

“In order to develop treatments for these disorders, we need to understand their cellular and molecular bases. Our work suggests that Drosophila can serve as a model system for genetic and molecular approaches to understand astrocyte function and astrocyte-neuron interactions. This undoubtedly will contribute to a better understanding of sleep and other neurological disorders that result from circadian dysfunction,” said Jackson.

An additional author on this paper is Michelle Tangredi, PhD, a graduate of the Sackler program in neuroscience and a postdoctoral associate in Jackson’s lab.

This research was funded by grants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and a training grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, all of the National Institutes of Health, and an award from the Russo Family Charitable Foundation Trust through TUSM. The Center for Neuroscience Research is funded by NINDS and Tufts University.

Ng FS, Tangredi MM, and Jackson FR. Current Biology. “Glial cells physiologically modulate clock neurons and circadian behavior in a calcium-dependent manner.” DOI 10.1016/j.cub.2011.03.027

About Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences

Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University are international leaders in innovative medical education and advanced research. The School of Medicine and the Sackler School are renowned for excellence in education in general medicine, biomedical sciences, special combined degree programs in business, health management, public health, bioengineering and international relations, as well as basic and clinical research at the cellular and molecular level. Ranked among the top in the nation, the School of Medicine is affiliated with six major teaching hospitals and more than 30 health care facilities. Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School undertake research that is consistently rated among the highest in the nation for its effect on the advancement of medical science.