Life Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Hormone Replacement Therapy (Hrt) On Gene Expression In The Amyloid Processing Pathway Of Ovariectomized Rhesus Macaque Females Under An Obesogenic Diet, Megan Ball

University Honors Theses

Estrogens rapidly decline at the onset of menopause, putting women at higher risk of osteoporosis, obesity, and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Estradiol hormone therapies (HT) have been suggested to limit these negative effects on women, with controversial findings as to their effectiveness. A study at OHSU recently found differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using RNAseq between ovariectomized/hysterectomized (OvH) old (range = 19.4–23.2 years) female rhesus macaques on HT and those on a placebo on chronic western style diet (WSD). The DEGs identified in the amyloid processing pathway of the amygdala were selected for validation using RT-qPCR because β-amyloid peptide …

Understanding The Effect Of Dietary Palmitic Acid On Glycolysis During Innate Immune Memory In Macrophages, Khaleda A. Aqaei

University Honors Theses

Trained immunity is long-term innate immune memory induced by a primary stimulus, which leads to hyper-inflammation upon secondary stimulation with a homologous or heterologous ligand. Trained immunity is mediated by epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming of the target cell and leads to modification of gene expression and cellular function. Classically, trained immunity is initiated by β-glucans, an inflammatory molecule found on the exterior of fungal species. Interestingly, our lab has recently described that dietary fatty acids can initiate trained immunity, working through similar pathways as β-glucans. Specifically, our data show that a pre-treatment with a specific dietary saturated fatty acid (SFA), …

The Effect Of Diazepam On Early Neural Stem Cells Proliferative Activity And Hippocampal-Dependent Memory After Traumatic Brain Injury, Van Khanh Doan

University Honors Theses

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) induces an upregulation of neurogenesis in the brain specifically in the hippocampus, an area pertaining to learning and memory formation. Although this upregulated response is intuitively thought to be restorative, previous studies show that the nascent neurons generated after TBI exhibit abnormalities, such as aberrant morphologies and early migrations, which could suggest to be maladaptive. The GABA-A agonist diazepam has been shown to inhibit this upregulation in neurogenesis and normalizes dendrites after TBI. To determine whether this modulation of neurogenesis is ultimately beneficial or detrimental to cognitive recovery, diazepam was administered to C57BI/6J wild-type mice following …

Potential Therapeutic Effects Of Snake Venom Components On Pain Management In Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients, Maggie Metzger

University Honors Theses

This paper reviews the existing literature on the uses of snake venom in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and pain management. Venom from the families Elapidae and Viperidae have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. The analgesic findings of research on arthritis murine models are discussed, and the existing uses of snake venom in medicine to suggest the therapeutic potential of venom in the pain management of rheumatoid arthritis are taken into account. Snake venom has anti-inflammatory effects by reducing levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increasing levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Additionally, snake venom can reduce structural damage from …

The Usage Of Resveratrol For Eye Pain After Refractive Surgery, Dennis Nguyen

University Honors Theses

LASEK and PRK are common laser corrective eye procedures that aim to correct the refractive errors of the eye, although these procedures do carry the potential of post-operation complications of dry eye and symptoms of pain and photophobia as a result of corneal innervation damage. Resveratrol was tested on the surface of the cornea to see if the drug would be effective at attenuating post-corrective eye pain. Male and female rats underwent a unilateral corneal abrasion surgery that aimed to mimic the post-op symptoms of PRK. The rats either received the resveratrol drug treatment or a vehicle formulation. The Rat …

Where To Draw The Line: Evaluating Visuospatial And Attentional Processing In Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Alisha Steigerwald

University Honors Theses

Objective: We investigated visuospatial processing in individuals with autism using bisection and quadrisection tasks to evaluate the presence of a possible downward vertical spatial bias that could provide insights into the preference for attending to the mouth in ASD populations.

Methods: Twenty participants with ASD and 20 age, IQ, and sex-matched control participants were recruited (ages 6-23). Participants were asked to bisect, quadrisect from the top, and quadrisect from the bottom vertical lines placed in their left, center, and right visual spaces. Distance from the true midpoint and quadripoint were calculated and compared between the two groups.

Results: No significant …

Expression And Function Of Transcription Factors Foxa1, Hoxb13 And Cdx2 In Prostate Cancer, Hamsat B. Anwar

University Honors Theses

Prostate cancer (PC) is the second leading cause of death in men, affecting around 190 thousand patients in 2020 alone (National Institute of Cancer, 2020). Much of the current research focuses on treatments for advanced PC, which is problematic due to the rapid evolution of tumors and development of treatment resistance. Cancer early detection presents a better approach to control and treat patients before they acquire an incurable disease. Earlier diagnosis of patients leads to better prognosis and a more comfortable treatment process (Etzioni et al., 2003). However, we currently lack molecular markers to stratify PC during its early stages. …