The Snow Foundation

Living With Wolfram Syndrome – Adam’s Story

Sacrifice it or never experience it?

Early in life I began having to face several limitations and make many sacrifices due to Wolfram Syndrome. With the diagnosis of Type I diabetes at 7 years old I was asked to limit and sacrifice enriched white flour and sugars in order to manage glucose levels. Staying away from sugary and or starchy foods, like pasta, candy, cookies, and rice, I gained a passion for high fibrous fruits and vegetables along with drinking over a gallon of water each day. As time went on I allowed initiating a network of friends and getting involved in intimate relationships to be placed on the back burner so I could manage my health through nutrition and physical activity.
Read more

February 2, 2014/by Adam Zwan

The Power of Wolfram: The Weapon to Combat Type 1 Diabetes

Why do I study such a rare disease as Wolfram Syndrome?

I am often asked, “Why do you study such a rare disease, Wolfram?” My answer is, “It is the weapon to combat common diseases.” My secret answer is, “I want to help Wolfram patients and their families.”

Why it is so important to study Wolfram syndrome, a rare condition characterized by juvenile-onset diabetes, optic atrophy, and neurodegeneration? It is a frightening condition. Wolfram syndrome is always on my mind just like pediatric cancer was always on my mind when I was a young doctor (some people still think that I am a young doctor…thank you). I just want to help them. That’s all I want. This is my last research project.From a scientific standpoint, I always believe that there is a tremendous benefit for us to study Wolfram syndrome. Increasing evidence now indicates that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) dysfunction is involved in more common diseases, especially type 1 diabetes. I propose that Wolfram syndrome is the “weapon to combat type 1 diabetes.“Despite its rarity, Wolfram syndrome probably represents the best model currently available for identifying treatments for diseases associated with ER dysfunction. Wolfram syndrome arises from mutation of a single gene (WFS1), a gene shown to be also involved in β cell dysfunction and death in other forms of diabetes mellitus. Its monogenic etiology makes Wolfram syndrome more amenable to dissecting out the mechanisms underpinning cellular responses to ER dysfunction than other diabetic conditions, such as type 1 diabetes mellitus, in which multiple factors typically interact to produce the disease manifestations.

Dr. Fumihiko Urano

Dr. Fumihiko Urano a renowned physician and scientist developing therapeutics and diagnostics for Wolfram syndrome and juvenile onset diabetes. His areas of expertise include Wolfram syndrome, type 1 diabetes, Pediatric pathology and genetics and Molecular Endocrinology. He is currently employed at the Washington University School of Medicine where he holds the Samuel E. Schechter Professor of Medicine, 2012 – present.

February 1, 2014/by Dr. Fumihiko Urano

Living With Wolfram Syndrome

I’m Getting Botox, But Not The Way You’d Think – Lauren’s Story

Today I am going to visit my grandmother celebrating her 80th birthday. I love my grandma and it is always fun to get together with all my relatives. After my doctor visit on Monday, I found out that my urologist is going to try something new for my bladder issues. I have a neuro stimulator implanted for my bladder that constantly spasms. It worked really well before but lately its not working as well. I get up almost hourly every night to go to the bathroom. This really tires me out because I never get any sleep. He is going to inject botox into my bladder to keep the spasms from occurring. He said he has had a lot of luck with this. He said it was done often on patients with MS or Cerebal Palsy. So I agreed to try it. It will last for one year. The doctor also had to inform me that there was a chance that it could paralyze my bladder. This thought really scared me. I thought, I get all the weird things happening to my body, so does that mean that I will have a paralyzed bladder? It this occurs, I would have to catherize myself for a year. Even though I am reluctant to do it, I will if it means I could get some sleep. My mom wishes they would inject it into my mouth so I quit talking so much. My mom is mad because the doctor won’t take a little extra and apply it to my mom’s face. LOL.

Well I have had my presurgical checkup and will have the surgery done on Wednesday. It is a 2 hour trip both ways to get to Omaha where my doctor is. I can’t wait to see if it works or not. Today I saw my psychiatrist. It was just a quick visit. He wanted to know how my constant checking things were doing. Was the medication doing what it is supposed to do for my bipolar diagnosis? It was all fine. We have to make a 1 ½ hour trip each way to see him. We are only there for a total of ½ hour. I feel bad my mom has to drive me everywhere. This has been a busy week. I will let you know next week how the surgery went.

January 29, 2014/by The Snow Foundation

Dr. Fumihiko Urano, Social Media Posts

Patient-Based Therapeutics Part 3

Research Update from
Dr. Fumihiko Urano

Patient-Based Therapeutics Part 3

Photo of Dr. Bess Marshall, Dr. Fumi Urano, Dr. Tamara Hershey

LEFT TO RIGHT: Dr. Bess Marshall, Dr. Fumi Urano, Dr. Tamara Hershey

Instead of introducing my research activities, I would like to introduce my colleagues today. I have a lot of colleagues who have been helping me develop diagnostics and therapeutics for Wolfram at the Washington University Medical Center. Without their help, I cannot accomplish anything. I give many lectures and talks on Wolfram syndrome, but I feel that I am just a spokesperson or a salesman of our team.

Today I would like to introduce Dr. Bess Marshall and Dr. Tamara Hershey. Dr. Marshall is a pediatric endocrinologist and serves as a medical director of our annual Wolfram clinic. Dr. Marshall is an experienced, smart, and caring physician scientist. Dr. Hershey is a neuropsychologist and serves as a scientific director of our Wolfram clinic. Dr. Hershey is thoughtful, smart, and extremely good at getting things done. They are powerful driving force of our Wolfram project! I always appreciate their continuous support and advice. Here is their picture! (From left to right: Dr. Marshall, Fumi, and Dr. Hershey)

Dr. Fumihiko Urano a renowned physician and scientist developing therapeutics and diagnostics for Wolfram syndrome and juvenile onset diabetes. His areas of expertise include Wolfram syndrome, type 1 diabetes, Pediatric pathology and genetics and Molecular Endocrinology. He is currently employed at the Washington University School of Medicine where he holds the Samuel E. Schechter Professor of Medicine, 2012 – present.

January 28, 2014/by Dr. Fumihiko Urano

Living With Wolfram Syndrome

What Define’s One’s Life – Adam Zwan

Some people are glorified for an invention or for a remarkable breakthrough in science. However, others make their mark in history by being diagnosed with a rare illness that shortens life expectancy by half. My place in history start in 1987 on September 18, living life as a healthy young man only to find health beginning to spiral downward in 1994. The diagnosis of Type I diabetes was only the first mile marker in my marathon known as Wolfram Syndrome. As one of 18 patients with Wolfram in the United States I found myself obligated to beat the statistics and surpass the life expectancy of 31 years old by controlling my diabetes and staying as physically active as I possibly could. I took a realistic look at myself and said that Wolfram Syndrome is the hand that I was dealt in life and it is my responsibility to make the best of what I have.
Read more

January 25, 2014/by Adam Zwan

Dr. Fumihiko Urano, Research, Social Media Posts

Patient-Based Therapeutics Part 2

Dr. Fumihiko Urano

Research Update from
Dr. Fumihiko Urano

Patient-Based Therapeutics Part 2

We are taking an unconventional approach to develop therapeutics for Wolfram syndrome. I would call it “patient-based therapeutics.” This implies a few things. One of these is the “mechanism-based treatment.” How can we achieve this component of “patient-based therapeutics” for Wolfram syndrome? Here are our current efforts.

1. Looking for FDA-approved drugs that can potentially halt progression of Wolfram syndrome (drug repurposing).
We looked for drugs that can protect cell death mediated by the leakage of calcium from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the cytosol. We found four FDA approved drugs and one supplement so far. We are testing these drugs in Wolfram iPSC-derived neural progenitor cells and mouse models of Wolfram syndrome.

2. Looking for a new class of drugs that can protect cell death mediated by endoplasmic reticulum dysfunction.
We have developed a drug screening method to identify drugs that can protect cell death mediated by ER dysfunction. In collaboration with a non-profit organization, we are actively looking for a new class of drugs that can potentially halt the progression of Wolfram.

3. Testing if MANF (mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor) can suppress the ER calcium leakage-mediated neuronal cell dysfunction in Wolfram iPSC-derived neural progenitor cells.

I will talk about more on MANF some other time. I thought that this was a good biomarker for Wolfram syndrome because expression of this molecule is increased by ER dysfunction. However, the increase of MANF might be an adaptive mechanism of our cells to cope with abnormal ER function.

Dr. Fumihiko Urano a renowned physician and scientist developing therapeutics and diagnostics for Wolfram syndrome and juvenile onset diabetes. His areas of expertise include Wolfram syndrome, type 1 diabetes, Pediatric pathology and genetics and Molecular Endocrinology. He is currently employed at the Washington University School of Medicine where he holds the Samuel E. Schechter Professor of Medicine, 2012 – present.

January 20, 2014/by Dr. Fumihiko Urano

Research

Research Update – Patient Based Therapeutics Part 1

Patient Based Therapeutics – Part 1

Dr. Fumihiko Urano

We are taking an unconventional approach to develop therapeutics for Wolfram syndrome. I would call it “patient-based therapeutics.” Our extensive molecular characterization of patient cells, especially iPSC-derived cells, has been providing us remarkable insights into the root cause of Wolfram syndrome. Based on these insights, I have been carefully choosing molecular targets and processes for developing therapeutics. These are the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane integrity, ER calcium leakage, calpain-2, and WFS1 gene mutations.How we target WFS1 gene mutations? We have started testing genome editing to accomplish this. Genome editing is a process that involves cutting out pathogenic genetic material (i.e., mutations in the WFS1 gene) and replacing it with healthy genetic material. This is a molecular surgery. So I am becoming a molecular surgeon. In short, we are trying to repair a genetic defect in Wolfram syndrome.

Currently, we are repairing a genetic defect in iPS cells from patients with Wolfram syndrome to see if the molecular surgery can restore the normal function of neural progenitor cells derived from Wolfram iPS cells. This is an important step. When the transplantation of iPSC-derived retinal ganglion cells and beta cells are available in the clinic in the future, we need to repair the genetic defect before the transplantation.

Dr. Fumihiko Urano a renowned physician and scientist developing therapeutics and diagnostics for Wolfram syndrome and juvenile onset diabetes. His areas of expertise include Wolfram syndrome, type 1 diabetes, Pediatric pathology and genetics and Molecular Endocrinology. He is currently employed at the Washington University School of Medicine where he holds the Samuel E. Schechter Professor of Medicine, 2012 – present.

January 15, 2014/by The Snow Foundation

Social Media Posts

We Say Goodbye to a Wolfram Trailblazer and Friend

Jon Wasson and Stephanie Snow Gebel

Jon Wasson

Yesterday our dear friend Jon Wasson passed away after a lengthy battle with Cancer. Jon was instrumental in the discovery of the Wolfram gene (WFS1). Jon worked closely with the late Dr. Alan Permutt, both bringing Wolfram syndrome research to the forefront at Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM).

Jon played a major role in establishing the Wolfram clinics at WUSM bringing together families from around the world who are dealing with the disease. Jon’s kind and personal connection with the families with Wolfram Syndrome led to the success of the Wolfram Clinic and Registry. Jon was a major supporter of the Snow Foundation and a true friend to our family. He will be sorely missed.

“Jon was always kind and thoughtful, and dedicated to our research on Wolfram syndrome. Great loss for all of us.” – Fumihiko Urano, MD, PhD – Washington University School of Medicine

“I will miss Jon tremendously. He was straight-shooting, honest, insightful and very passionate about his work, repeatedly going the extra mile to help our Wolfram Syndrome families and to facilitate our research.” – Tamara Hershey, Ph.D. – Washington University School of Medicine

December 13, 2013/by The Snow Foundation

Research

2013 Wolfram Clinic

4th Annual Clinic on Wolfram Syndrome Held at St. Louis Children’s Hospital July 17-20th

The 2013 Wolfram Research Clinic was run over four days in mid July. A total of 22 patients, six of which were new, participated in MRI scans and many other measurements, totaling up to 326 individual appointments. This clinic is now truly international, with two families from outside of the US. Many researchers, clinicians, staff, volunteers and interpreters helped make this research clinic run smoothly and comfortably for the families. Highlights of the clinic include The Snow Foundation’s family dinner at The Wildflower Cafe and the Saturday research/clinical update for families. Speakers included Tamara Hershey, FumihikoUrano, Bess Marshal, and several other faculty members. For a look at the presentation that was given click on the link below.

2013 Wolfram Clinic Research Update

June 11, 2013/by The Snow Foundation

Past Events

1st Annual Adult Easter Egg Hunt

St. Louis, Missouri, March 25, 2012 – Grant’s Farm kicked off the 2013 season by hosting the “1^st Annual Adult Easter Egg Hunt” on Saturday, March 23, 2013 in the historic Bauernhoff and Carriage House. The event was held to benefit The Jack and J.T. Snow Scientific Research Foundation.

The evening was hosted by KMOV’s Steve Savard which included a hunt for Easter eggs filled with fabulous prizes such as Rams tickets with pre-game field access, a VIP tour of Grant’s Farm, a diamond necklace from Décor-Interiors and Jewelry, Cardinal Diamond Suite tickets and much more.

“We cannot thank Grant’s Farm and our sponsors, Clayco and Concrete Strategies for supporting our Foundation and helping us put on such a wonderful event. We were able to raise a significant amount of money to help support our mission of stopping Wolfram syndrome and helping those afflicted with this horrible disease”, said Foundation President, Stephanie Gebel. “Without the help of all of ours sponsors and event attendees we could not continue to support the critical research being done here in St. Louis at Washington University’s School of Medicine as well as overseas.”