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Binge Alcohol Drinking Exacerbates Ulcerative Colitis Flare, Abigail Cannon
Binge Alcohol Drinking Exacerbates Ulcerative Colitis Flare, Abigail Cannon
Dissertations
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) remains a prominent medical concern affecting over 1.4 million people in the U.S. One of the most common forms of the disease is ulcerative colitis (UC), and UC patients will often head doctor's advice to refrain from drinking alcohol. However, whether this phenomenon of alcohol exacerbating UC symptoms occurs is still unknown, which necessitated the generation of a mouse model of UC and binge alcohol. Therefore, we examined a range of DSS concentrations (2-4%) and 2 alcohol paradigms in C57BL/6 mice. Mice receiving 2% DSS ad libitum for five days with a three-day alcohol binge had …
Protection From Staphylococcus Aureus Bloodstream Infection By Probiotic Exopolysaccharide, Wonbeom Paik
Protection From Staphylococcus Aureus Bloodstream Infection By Probiotic Exopolysaccharide, Wonbeom Paik
Dissertations
Staphylococcus aureus is known to cause severe systemic infection with high mortality rates. Antibiotics are the only approved therapy for patients, but the widespread prevalence of antibiotic resistant strains limits treatment efficacy, and many patients succumb to the disease. Many probiotic agents are commercially available, but the mechanisms by which they benefit are not known. Understanding these mechanisms will help develop novel therapeutics that can improve healthcare, including systemic infections by S. aureus. Bacillus subtilis is a probiotic bacterium that produces an exopolysaccharide (EPS) that induces anti inflammatory macrophages (MΦ). We tested if EPS could be used for systemic S. …
Behavioral Symptom Clusters, Inflammation, And Quality Of Life In Chronic Low Back Pain Patients, Anitha Saravanan
Behavioral Symptom Clusters, Inflammation, And Quality Of Life In Chronic Low Back Pain Patients, Anitha Saravanan
Dissertations
Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a prevalent condition, often involving an inflammatory process. Those with CLBP frequently experience behavioral symptoms, including depressed mood, fatigue, and sleep disturbance, which may exacerbate pain and reduce quality of life (QOL). The purpose of this study was to identify behavioral symptom clusters (depressive mood, fatigue, poor sleep) in individuals with CLBP, and to determine whether there are differences in pain, QOL and inflammation (plasma IL-6) based on cluster membership. CLBP patients (N=69; age = 56±13 years) completed measures of pain, depressive mood, fatigue, sleep, and QOL. Blood was obtained for IL-6 measurement. LCA …