Lajtha, Abel

Abel Lajtha was born and educated in Budapest, Hungary. He went to a Presbyterian high school, followed by the University of Budapest, where he received his Ph.D. He continued his post graduate work as a student of Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, the Nobel Prize winning discoverer of vitamin C. He began his scientific career at the Institute of Biochemistry in Budapest under Szent-Györgyi, studying processes involved in muscular contraction. When Szent-Gyorgyi left Hungary Lajtha continued his work on marine muscle contraction at the Zoological Institute in Naples, Italy, then spent a year in London as a fellow of the Royal Institute of Great Britain. He rejoined Szent-Györgyi’s Institute for Muscle Research at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA. He began his studies on the nervous system when he joined the laboratory of Dr. Heinrich Waelsch, one of the pioneers of Neurochemistry, at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City in 1950. He remained in New York studying biochemical mechanisms in the nervous system for the rest of his career. Waelsch’s laboratories were part of the New York State Psychiatric Institute – a part of New York State Office of Mental Health, and also a part of Columbia University. Dr. Lajtha spent the next 12 years in this Institute in pioneering studies on the blood-brain barrier, and on brain protein metabolic studies. These were the years of establishing neurochemistry as a discipline, when the various neurochemical societies and neurochemical journals were formed – Dr. Lajtha was a founding member of many of these. In 1963 New York State established a new research institute with Dr. Lajtha as its leader. He became the Director of the N.Y.S. Research Institute for Neurochemistry and Drug Addiction at Ward’s Island, New York City, with a staff of about 60 people; he was appointed Research Professor of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine in 1971. His Institute later merged with the N.S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, where he is now Director of the Center for Neurochemistry. Dr. Lajtha contributed to neurochemical research in many important ways. In addition to his studies he organized numerous conferences and symposia, served on several advisory boards, always attempting to support neuroscience and neuroscientists. He has received several honors, including an honorary M.D. degree from the University of Padua; he has been President of the International Society for Neurochemistry, and of the American Society for Neurochemistry; he was elected as foreign or corresponding member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Indian Academy of Neuroscience, the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, and as an honorary member of institutes and societies in many countries. He has published over 600 journal articles and 100 reviews or chapters. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Handbook of Neurochemistry, the third edition of which comprises 17 volumes. He is the founder and the Editor-in Chief of the Journal; Neurochemical Research, now in its 34th year. He has been an editor of an additional 16 books, and about 20 journals. He has served on various federal committees and panels, including four years each on study sections for the Veterans Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health. He has been a member and chairman of about 30 scientific committees and member or officer of 20 societies of Neuroscience. He had grant support for his laboratory continuously for over 40 years. He is since more than 20 years, the President of the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, an organization with an approximate budget now of over $100 million. He also serves as the chair of the Institutional Review Board of the Nathan Kline Institute over the past 12 years. His main interest remains brain proteins, membranes, and receptors, especially their functions and their changes with drugs, pathology, and aging especially now cognitive and reward mechanisms and the effect of drugs on them. His work measured half-lives, established the dynamic turnover of brain proteins, established the presence of about 10 amino acid transport systems as part of the blood-brain barrier, examined changes with aging in brain protein catabolism, and in recent years explored the complex receptor interactions modulating the central effects of drugs that stimulate cognition and of drugs of abuse in the hope to clarify the role of the interacting neuroreceptors in cognitive and reward processes. His laboratory had many young scientists visiting and being trained, from the U.S. and from all over the world.

Sziráki, I., Sershen, H., Benuck, B., Hashim, A., and Lajtha, A. "Receptor Systems Participatingin Nicotine-Specific Effects," Neurochem. Int. 33,445-457 (1998).

Javitt. D.C., Sershen. H., Hashim, A., and Lajtha, A. "Inhibition of Striatal Dopamine Release by Glycine and Glycyldodecylamide," Brain Res. Bull. 52.213-216 (2000).

Sziráki, I., Lipovac, M.N., Hashim, A., Sershen. H., Allen. D., Cooper. T., Czobor, P., and Lajtha. A. "Differences in Nicotine-Induced Dopamine Release and Nicotine Pharmacokinetics between Lewis and Fischer 344 Rats." Neurochem. Res. 26,609-617 (2001).

Sziráki, I., Sershen. H., Hashim, A., and Lajtha, A. Receptors in the Ventral Tegmental Area Mediating Nicotine-Induced Dopamine Release in the Nucleus Accumbens. Neurochem. Res. 27:253-261 (2002).

Shearman, E., Rossi, S., Sershen, H., Hashim, A. and Lajtha, A. Locally Administered Low Nicotine-Induced Neurotransmitter Changes in Areas of Cognitive Function. Neurochem. Res. 30: 1055-1066 (2005).

Fallon, S., Shearman, E., Sershen, H., and Lajtha, A. Food Reward Induced Neurotransmitter Changes in Cognitive Brain Regions. Neurochem. Res. 32: 1772-1782 (2007).

Lajtha, A. Interrelated Mechanisms in Reward and Learning. Neurochemistry International 52: 73-79 (2008).

Balla, A., Nattini, M.E., Sershen, H., Lajtha, A., Dunlop, D.S., and Javitt, D.C. GABAB /NMDA receptor interaction in the regulation of extracellular dopamine levels in rodent prefrontal cortex and striatum. Neuropharmacology 56: 915-921 (2009).

Sershen, H., Shearman, E., Fallon, S., Chakraborty, G., Smiley, J., and Lajtha, A. The effects of acetaldehyde on nicotine-induced transmitter levels in young and adult brain areas. Brain Research Bulletin 79: 458-462 (2009).

Sershen, H., Hashim, A., and Lajtha, A. Differences Between Nicotine and Cocaine-Induced Conditioned Place Preference. Brain Research Bulletin 81: 120-124 (2010).

Lajtha, A., and Sershen, H. Heterogeneity of Reward Mechanisms. Neurochemical Research 35: (2010) In press.

Kovacs, K., Lajtha, A., and Sershen, H. Effect of Nicotine and Cocaine on Neurofilaments and Receptors in Whole Brain Tissue a Synaptoneurosome Preparation. Brain Research Bulletin 81: (2010) In press.

(August 2010)

Abel Lajtha se je rodil v Budimpešti. Tam je obiskoval Prezbiterijansko visoko šolo (t. j. srednjo šolo) ter nato nadaljeval izobraževanje na Univerzi v Budimpešti, kjer je dosegel akademsko stopnjo Ph. D. Podiplomsko izobraževanje je nadaljeval kot študent Alberta Szent-Gyoryija, Nobelovega nagrajenca, odkritelja vitamina C. Svojo znanstveno kariero je začel na Inštitutu za biokemijo v Budimpešti, pod vodstvom Szent-Gyoryija, ko je preučeval dogajanja ob mišični kontrakciji. Ko je Szent-Gyoryi zapustil Madžarsko, je Lajtha nadaljeval s svojim delom v Zoološkem Inštitutu v Neaplju v Italiji, s študijem mišične kontrakcije morskih živali. Nato je eno leto delal v Londonu kot štipendist Royal Institute of Great Britain. Ponovno se je pridružil Szent-Gyoryiju v Institute of Muscle Research v Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, ZDA. Ko se je lotil v raziskovanja živčevja, se je 1950 vključil v laboratorij dr. Heinricha Waelscha, enega od začetnikov nevrokemije na Columbia University. V New Yorku je ostal do konca svoje kariere in proučeval biokemične mehanizme v živčevju. Waelschovi laboratoriji so bili del New York State Psychiatric Institute in del New York State Office of Mental Health, tudi del Columbia University. Naslednjih 12 let je dr. Lajtha delal na tem inštitutu v pionirskih raziskavah o žilno-možganski pregradi ter o presnovnih raziskavah možganskih beljakovin. To so bila leta, ko se je nevrokemija uveljavljala kot disciplina, ko so se oblikovala razna nevrokemična združenja ter nevrokemične revije; dr. Lajtha je bil pri slednjih mnogokrat ustanovni član. Postal je direktor N. Y. S. Research Institute for Neurochemistry ter Drug Addiction at Ward’s Island. Vodil je delovno skupino, ki je imela okoli 60 ljudi. L. 1971 je bil na medicinski fakulteti v New Yorku imenovan za Research Professor of Psychiatry. Ta inštitut se je kmalu potem združil z N. S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research; tu je dr. Lajtha postal direktor Centra za biokemijo.
Dr. Lajtha je k nevrokemičnim raziskavam prispeval na mnogo načinov. Razen s svojimi raziskavami je organiziral številne konference in simpozije, deloval je v številnih svetovalnih telesih in vedno poskušal podpirati nevroznanosti in raziskovalce v nevroznanosti. Prejel je mnogo častnih naslovov, med drugim tudi častni naziv “dr. med.” (M.D.) univerze v Padovi. Bil je predsednik International Society for Neurochemistry ter bil izvoljen za dopisnega člana SAZU, madžarske Akademije znanosti, Indijske Akademije za nevroznanosti, Armenske nacionalne akademije znanosti ter za častnega člana številnih inštitutov in združenj v številnih deželah. Objavil je več kot 600 člankov v raziskovalnih revijah ter 100 preglednih člankov oz. poglavij v knjigah. Je ustanovitelj in glavni urednik revije Journal of Neurochemical Research, ki zdaj izhaja že 34 let. Bil je urednik pri 16 knjigah in pri približno 20 revijah. Sodeloval je pri mnogih ameriških zveznih komisijah in odborih, vključno štiri leta vsakokrat pri sekcijah za Veterans Administration, National Science Foundation ter National Institutes of Health. Bil je član ter predsednik pri približno 30 znanstvenih komisij ter član v 20 združenj za nevrokemijo. Njegovo raziskovalno delo je bilo financirano kot “grant” več kot 40 let. Zdaj je že več kot 20 let predsednik Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, organizacije s proračunom zdaj več kot 100 mio USD. Je že 12 let predsednik Institutional Review Board of the Nathan Kline Institute.
Najbolj so ga zanimale možganske beljakovine, membrane in receptorji, posebno njih funkcija in njih spremembe zaradi različnih učinkovin, patologija ter staranje, zdaj pa posebno kognitivni ter nagrajevalni mehanizmi in učinek zdravil nanje. V svojem delu je meril razpolovni čas, ugotavljal dinamični obrat (turnover) možganskih beljakovin, ugotovil navzočnost približno 10 aminokislinskih prenašalcev (transporterjev) kot del žilno-možganske pregrade. Ugotavljal je spremembe katabolizma možganskih beljakovin pri staranju ter v zadnjih letih preiskal kompleksne receptorske interakcije, ki modulirajo centralne učinke tistih zdravil, ki podpirajo kognicijo, ter zdravila, ki se zlorabljajo. Vse to z namenom, da bi pojasnil pomen med sabo sklopljenih nevroreceptorjev pri kognitivnih ter nagrajujočih procesih. V njegovem laboratoriju je bilo mnogo mladih raziskovalcev iz ZDA ali iz vsega sveta, ki so bili bodisi obiskovalci bodisi so se tu izobraževali.

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