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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Utilization Of Structural And Biochemical Cues To Enhance Peripheral Nerve Regeneration, Balendu Shekhar Jha
Utilization Of Structural And Biochemical Cues To Enhance Peripheral Nerve Regeneration, Balendu Shekhar Jha
Theses and Dissertations
This study examines the prospects of using the electrospinning process to fabricate tissue engineering scaffolds targeting a variety of regenerative applications, with a primary focus on the production of nerve guides for the treatment of long-defect nerve injuries in the peripheral nervous system. A basic overview of the conventional electrospinning process is provided, and the utility of this fabrication scheme in the production of collagen-based tissue engineering scaffolds is demonstrated. Next, a novel modification of the basic electrospinning process is presented. This process, called two pole air gap electrospinning, was developed to produce nerve guides that exhibit an anisotropic structure …
Assessing The Role Of Polyethylene Glycol (Peg) In Improving Functional Recovery Following Spinal Cord Injury, Dustin Dalton
Assessing The Role Of Polyethylene Glycol (Peg) In Improving Functional Recovery Following Spinal Cord Injury, Dustin Dalton
Theses and Dissertations
Injury to the spinal cord results in the disruption of signal transmission between the brain and distal targets. It often presents with the loss of motor function and sensory perception below the level of injury. There are many obstacles following injury that must be overcome in order to encourage axon regeneration and improve functional recovery. A combinatorial approach is necessary to combat physical and chemical barriers to recovery. The fluid filled cyst that forms in the majority of spinal cord injuries presents a physical barrier that we treat with our electrospun bridges. We implanted our bridges into female Long Evans …
Differential Glial Cell Responses In The Dentate Gyrus In Young Adult And Aged Brains Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Christoher Shin
Differential Glial Cell Responses In The Dentate Gyrus In Young Adult And Aged Brains Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Christoher Shin
Theses and Dissertations
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects 3 out of every 1000 Americans each year, and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality after trauma, accounting for as many as 56,000 deaths per year (Dutton and McCunn, 2003). The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention found that TBI most commonly occurs in adolescents and young adults aged from 15 to 24 years and in the elderly (75 years and older). Following injury, the secondary injury begins almost immediately after the primary injury and is the result of a number of cascades where once activated, exacerbate the already altered homeostasis of …
Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Reduces Dendritic Spine Density Across Sensory Cortices, Francis Oppong
Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Reduces Dendritic Spine Density Across Sensory Cortices, Francis Oppong
Theses and Dissertations
Dendritic spines are the major site of excitatory synapses in cortex, and factors that reduce dendritic spine numbers will produce serious cortical processing deficits, such as has been demonstrated for mental retardation and other psychiatric disorders. Prenatal alcohol exposure also has detrimental effects on brain development that lead to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), which results in reduction of dendritic spine numbers in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and somatosensory cortex. FASD also is associated with temporal processing disorders involving sequential auditory stimuli that would be processed in auditory cortical areas. However, it is unknown if the reduction of spine density …
Sulfatide Is Required For Organization Of The Paranode In The Myelinated Axon In The Peripheral Nervous System, Eva Kwong
Theses and Dissertations
Myelin facilitates the timely, efficient conduction of action potentials along axons. Made by Schwann cells (SCs) in the PNS, myelin is unique in that it is composed of a high percentage of lipids, particularly galactolipids. Sulfatide, one such galactolipid, is made by cerebroside sulfotransferase (CST) and has been shown to play a role in organizing paranodal domains in myelinated axons. However less is known regarding the involvement of sulfatide in the establishment and maintenance of the node, of particular interest as it is responsible for the potentiation of action potentials along the axon. Using immunohistochemical and, to a lesser extent, …
The Effects Of Sdf-1Α Treatment On The Migration Of Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells After Traumatic Brain Injury, Corey Evans
The Effects Of Sdf-1Α Treatment On The Migration Of Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells After Traumatic Brain Injury, Corey Evans
Theses and Dissertations
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of death and disability among young adults and has been a significant field in medical research over the past decades. Intensive studies focusing on how to repair tissue damage resulting from head injuries have discovered that the central nervous system (CNS) retains a regenerative capacity throughout life due to the persistent presence of neural stem/progenitor cells (NS/NPCs) in the neurogenic regions. In the normal brain, cells generated in the subventricular zone (SVZ) migrate along the rostral migratory stream (RMS) to the olfactory bulb and cells in the subgranular zone (SGZ) …
Wilms’ Tumor-1 (Wt1) Protein Expression In Glioma Cells Actuates Cellular Invasiveness- Identifying Its Target Genes, Archana Chidambaram
Wilms’ Tumor-1 (Wt1) Protein Expression In Glioma Cells Actuates Cellular Invasiveness- Identifying Its Target Genes, Archana Chidambaram
Theses and Dissertations
Previous studies in our laboratory demonstrated the expression of WT1 in a significant number of glioma cells and established its role in promoting tumor cell proliferation. Here, we noted the effect(s) of manipulating WT1 levels on the expression levels of genes that were previously shown to be regulated by WT1. We found no correlation between the expression levels of WT1 and PDGF-A, Snai1 and E-cadherin and a consistent inverse correlation between WT1 and IGF-1R expression in U251-MG cells. To ascertain whether the increased IGF-1R levels resulting from WT1 silencing could account for decreased cellular proliferation, we utilized siRNA mediated knockdown …