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ANNOUNCEMENTS

 October 2024
This is the place to share news, events, photos, etc.
(Go to "Post Announcement" in left column and post your news.)


 

Dear PHS‘69 Classmates,

Who could have imagined over 55 years ago that we would still be in contact with so many wonderful people in our graduating class?  Yet, here we are and, like back in 1969, we are still sharing life together.

Though our lives now are very, very different from then, they are in many ways the same.  We still experience life’s ups and downs - challenges, victories, fears, and more. However, relationships can make a real difference.

If you would like to share your life concerns or sorrows, we would consider it an honor to be able to pray specifically for you and your loved ones.  We would also love to celebrate with you the good things that come your way.

Please contact us through my email:  dubambrose@gmail.com
We look forward to hearing from you!

Blessings on you and yours,
Dub & Cathy Munson Ambrose


 

PASCHAL ALUMNI
"Roger Motheral" Classic
GOLF TOURNAMENT

Friday, October 4, 2024
Hawks Creek Golf Course
6520 White Settlement Road
Westworth Village, TX

Hey Panthers!
I hope everyone who has played, or wants to play for the first time, in our annual alumni golf tournament on October 4th has reserved this date on their calendar.

Every year we keep adding to our golf event…to keep it the best alumni event possible! This year we are moving this event back to Ft. Worth!!!

Who feels lucky for a chance to win $10,000?

I will soon be releasing our new web page for you to sign up your teams and also to be able to pay online! Singles, Doubles, & Triples are in couraged to sign up as well.

We are Sponsoring a NEW Pilot Program this year at Paschal when school starts:

      “Paschal Peer Tutorial” where Honor students will tutor
       struggling students in all grade levels & in all major academics.

I can’t wait for you to hear more about this exciting new program!  This is only being offered at Paschal!

We are always looking for NEW Donors & Sponsors for our tournament to help keep PHS an elite high school in Ft. Worth!

If you have any questions, please get in touch with me soon.

Randy "RH" Honeycutt
Honeycuttrandy@gmail.com
817.584.4607

Available soon at:  https.//app.eventcaddy.com/events/paschal-alumni-Roger-Motheral-classic
 

Calling on our PHS'69 Golf Team members, and more, including Shirley Yates Turner, Cissy Ramsel Birdseye, David Rubinson, etc!  Let's have a good showing at this tournament!
 

Not a golfer or unable to attend?  No problem!  Your donation to this event & the new "Paschal Peer Tutorial" program will be greatly appreciated!


 

Exciting discovery by Dr Steve Martin,
Fay Evans-Martin's husband!

(Steve was a photographer at our 55th Reunion Weekend!)

New Research From UT Could One Day Treat Chronic Pain Without Opioids 

BY  IN 40 ACRESMAY | JUNE 2024RESEARCH  ON APRIL 30, 2024 AT 7:44 PM  | NO COMMENTS 

Three decades ago, if you had asked Dr. Stephen Martin how the molecules he synthesizes would be used today, he might have given you any number of answers ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s research. He says it’s really a matter of “serendipity” that his life’s work may now culminate in a breakthrough non-opioid treatment for chronic pain.

“A lot of people start off some research project, and they say, for example, ‘pain is a serious problem. I want to develop a treatment,’” Martin says. “The way we got into this is completely different.”

Martin is part of a team of researchers from UT Austin, the University of Texas at Dallas, and the University of Miami who recently identified a molecule that effectively reduced symptoms of neuropathic pain in mice trials. The molecule, dubbed FEM-1689, works by targeting a previously under-researched protein and could soon be integral for treating neuropathic pain without the side effects and addictive potential of opioids.

Although Martin now finds himself on the cutting edge of new mechanisms for reducing neuropathic pain, he says this work began, in a way, as a shot in the dark—made lucky by a few open-minded biologists and a hunch towards the road less taken.;

Martin is currently a chemistry professor and head of the Martin Research Group at UT, focusing on chemical synthesis—or “molecule making,” as he calls it. But the seeds for his current research were planted some 35 years ago, when Martin was working for a program funded by the National Institutes of Health. There, he conceptualized an approach to develop hundreds of biologically active chemicals and determine their potential applications for human health.

“We didn’t have any idea what we’re looking for, but we screened the molecules against a bunch of targets, and we came across this one group of molecules that bound to these things called sigma receptors,” Martin says.  

Though Martin did not know it at the time, he would later uncover the important role that sigma receptors play in regulating the integrated stress response—a network of cellular signaling that is activated in response to diseases and injuries. Joining him in this research was Dr. Jim Sahn, a co-author on the latest paper who began synthesizing and refining molecules with Martin as a postdoctoral researcher in 2009. Together, they learned there are two types of sigma receptors: sigma-1, a protein known to have neurological effects, and sigma-2, which was minimally studied.

“Lots of times, you know exactly what a protein is,” Martin says. “But the sequence of this particular sigma-2 protein wasn’t known. It was just a pharmacological binding site.”

Martin says he and Sahn hypothesized that sigma-2 might have neurological applications, in part because no one else had ever considered it. They went on to identify the protein as TMEM97, but to understand its effects, they needed to find biologists willing to take a risk and help test their compounds.

Martin first partnered with researchers at Stanford and the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and found that TMEM97 may help slow the effects of Alzheimer’s and retinal degeneration. But the biggest breakthrough came in 2014 when Martin was first introduced to Dr. Theodore Price, one of the foremost researchers in the field of neuropathic pain who would go on to run the Price Lab at UT Dallas. There, he tested Martin and Sahn’s chemicals as part of his research into new treatments for neuropathic pain.

“Neuropathic pain is a really big clinical problem, and the existing drugs don’t work very well at all for most people,” Price says. “So I’ve always been looking for opportunities to work with medicinal chemists that have the capability of making molecules that can actually progress.&rdquo

In 2017, the researchers co-founded NuvoNuro, Inc., a company devoted to developing new therapeutic drugs using these synthetic molecular compounds. They’ve since tested Martin and Sahn’s chemicals against various causes of neuropathy including diabetes, chemotherapy, and nerve damage.

The team’s latest study involved administering FEM-1689 (a compound named after Martin’s wife’s initials) to target TMEM97 in mice suffering from sciatica. They found that the compound effectively reduced hypersensitivity, allowing the mice to place more weight on their nerve-damaged paws than before. The research also isolated the mechanistic underpinning of this response.

“The really important thing in this paper is that we figured out that it really is a specific action of these drugs on TMEM97,” Price says. This is important because it shows that compounds like FEM-1689 can target TMEM97 in isolation without engaging opioid receptors.;

The current research is being funded by a nearly $7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative, which supports finding scientific solutions to the national opioid crisis. Although targeting TMEM97 has several other potential therapeutic uses, advancing non-opioid pain treatments is a top priority.

In 2020, the CDC estimated that 1.6 million Americans suffered from opioid use disorder, and more than 70,000 people died of drug overdoses that year. Sahn says this research is particularly exciting because it could provide a new and safer path to pain relief with less potential for misuse.

“We are now a year into the HEAL grant with a goal of developing a drug candidate that is ready to advance to clinical trials, which obviously will get us a step closer to helping the millions of people that are currently not being served by available pain meds,” Sahn says.

After the paper’s publication in November 2023, numerous chronic pain patients contacted Martin to ask when the compound might make its way to pharmacy shelves. He understands their urgency, especially since he previously experienced severe prolonged leg pain, but he says clinical trials are still a few years away.

The researchers are currently working to refine the compound, minimizing potential side effects and ensuring long-term efficacy for those who might rely on it as a daily pain medication. Although this is a lengthy process, the researchers are confident in its success.

“We think by the end of this grant, which has about four years left on it, we’ll have a candidate that’s ready to enter phase one clinical trials,” Sahn says. “I’m feeling very optimistic. That paper was based on discoveries and efforts that started [years] ago, so it’s great to see our research taking us in a path that will hopefully affect many people in a positive way.”


 

Web Host "REFER A FRIEND" Program

The LINK below is configured to the "Refer a Friend" program for CLASS CREATOR, our website host.  Not only is "CLASS CREATOR" used for high school classes, but also for families and any group that may benefit. 

If we refer someone and they sign up for a Class Creator website, a $50 check will be sent to PHS'69.  This is a great way to earn a little extra money in order to keep our reunion costs down. 

If you know anyone who could use this user-friendly website service, please pass along the information. They must use the following link in order for PHS'69 to receive credit:  https://www.classcreator.com/index.cfm?M=M3371711

If you have questions or need assistance please, email (sue.bailey@mac.com), call or text me (Sue Jacobson Bailey) at 832-7232420 and I'll be happy to discuss Class Creator with you. 

Debbie Turner Monroe signed up the Class of 1968!  Let's get other PASCHAL classes on board.

Thanks!

"Beam Me Up Scotty"
Take me to the TOP!


(Click to visit PHS'69 on FACEBOOK)