Workout will help Olympic hopefuls Back Bay...

Workout will help Olympic hopefuls

Back Bay Fitness is doing its part to help Olympic hopefuls by

hosting an Olympic Charity event on Saturday. The wellness center

will offer a day of workouts and classes, with all proceeds from the

fund-raiser donated directly to young athletes who are training for

the 2004 and 2006 Olympics.

The event is dedicated to raising money for Maria Garcia, who is

training for Junior Olympic Short Track Speed Skating, and Catharine

von Schwartz, who will compete Women’s Water Polo. Back Bay Fitness

expects to raise $10,000 for the Olympic hopefuls.

The fitness center will offer complimentary personal training,

body sculpting, group cycling, tai chi and yoga for the event. Those

who make a donation will enjoy a free day of classes and other

activities at the charity event. A variety of gifts will be offered

to contributors, including gift certificates to Back Bay Fitness, a

month of unlimited classes at the facility, and apparel.

Participation in the event is not required of those who donate.

Donation forms can be found on the Back Bay Fitness Web site,

https://www.backbayfitness.com or at the Back Bay Fitness facility, at

2675 Irvine Ave., Suite A. For more information, call (949) 631-5587.

The event takes place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Estancia High School students get free salad

Students at Estancia High School will help themselves to a free

salad bar for lunch today.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District Nutrition Services is

offering the free salad as part of its effort to promote more

healthful food choices for students. A variety of fruits and

vegetables will be offered.

Nutrition services is encouraging students to eat at least five

servings of fruits and vegetables a day. The “A to Z Salad Bar” is

being sponsored by the California Nutrition Network for Healthy,

Active Families.

OCC Emeritus Institute selects officers

Orange Coast College’s Emeritus Institute has selected three

officers, the first for the newly formed entity.

The institute formed last spring to help retired faculty and staff

from the school and make use of their talents.

Former OCC administrator James E. Garmon will serve as the

Emeritus Institute’s first president. Garmon, a Costa Mesa resident,

has also served as administrator to Coastline Community College.

Costa Mesa resident Rachel Perez Hamilton, a former secretary for

the athletic department and president of the college’s Alumni and

Friends Assn., will be vice president. Judy Lindsay of Costa Mesa

will be the secretary/treasurer of the institute. Lindsay served on

the college’s staff for 28 years as senior staff assistant and

retired last summer.

UCI announces spinal injury drug findings

Researchers from UC Irvine’s Reeve-Irvine Research Center

announced Thursday their findings that people suffering from spinal

cord injuries may have a greater chance of recovery if treated with

drugs that block the body’s own immune response to initial trauma.

In tests on rats, antibodies created by UCI neurologist Hans

Keirstead and immunologist Thomas Lane stopped the secondary nerve

and spinal cord damage caused by the immune system response. Rates of

recovery significantly improved.

Though primary tissue damage cannot be reversed, Keirstead said

that the study shows that secondary damage can be prevented, giving

greater hope to people with such injuries.

The Reeve-Irvine Research Center, named for actor Christopher

Reeve, studies spinal cord injuries with the goal of finding cures.

Results of the study will appear in November’s issue of

Experimental Neurology.