Medical Anatomy Commons^™

Piriformis Syndrome With A Variant Presentation, Roberto Chuapoco, Ryan E. Linford

Annual Research Symposium

Piriformis syndrome has long been a diagnostic quandary due to its tendency to present as other nerve-related conditions. Piriformis syndrome is commonly caused by entrapment of the sciatic nerve as it travels through the greater sciatic foramen due to hypertrophy of the piriformis muscle. However, its constellation of symptoms, including radiating pain down the thigh, can easily be mistaken for lumbosacral radiculopathy. This case report aims to address the misdiagnosis of piriformis syndrome which has prolonged pain for many patients and increased the cost of medical care. It demonstrates a 76-year-old female with a confounding presentation of piriformis syndrome: buttock …

Regeneration Of Neurons In Human Brain Tissue; A Revolutionary Concept With Therapeutic Potential, Mackenzie R. Dunn

Other Undergraduate Research

There is current research to suggest that endogenous neuronal regeneration, exogenous neuronal stem cell transplantation and glial cell reprogramming could be prospective therapeutic treatments for neurodegeneration and traumatic injury. With these conditions, there is significant brain atrophy, loss of neurons and loss of synaptic connections which can have devastating effects on executive functioning, cognition, learning and memory. This review will examine these modern approaches to adult neurogenesis, and assess the viable mechanisms and future outlook of these three therapies for neurological regenerative medicine.

Nursing Considerations For Post-Traumatic Amnesia After A Traumatic Brain Injury, Hannah Grant

Senior Honors Theses

A period known as post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) often follows a traumatic brain injury (TBI). PTA is characterized by anterograde and retrograde amnesia, confusion, disorientation, and agitation. The duration and severity of PTA is a key indicator of the long-term prognosis after a TBI, so proper assessment and nursing care of a PTA patient is crucial. TBIs range from mild to severe, but primarily affect the fronto-temporal lobes. In PTA, both neural lesions and white matter damage within the parahippocampal region can cause PTA. A nurse must perform a thorough assessment of a TBI patient, but, since PTA is a key …

Apathy And Brain Atrophy During The First Year Of Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Longitudinal Study, Gulnaz Kudoiarova

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Apathy, defined as disinterest and loss of motivation, is a common complication after moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (msTBI). The existing body of research in various neurological and neurodegenerative disorders suggests that apathetic symptoms may be associated with variation in the volume of the brain regions such as dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and ventral striatum. However, the longitudinal pattern of TBI-induced atrophy in these key regions and its relationship with apathy symptoms remain to be demonstrated. The current study aimed to describe the atrophy pattern in the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG) and the nucleus accumbens (NAc; part of ventral striatum) after …

Machine Learning Classification Of Traumatic Brain Injury Patients Versus Healthy Controls Using Arterial Spin Labeled Perfusion Mri, Vanessa I. Grass

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most common causes of death and disability worldwide, yet accurate in vivo detection of TBI neuropathology remains challenging due to complexities in the structural and functional changes observed post-injury as well as limitations in conventional neuroimaging modalities. Although advanced neuroimaging techniques such as arterial spin labeling (ASL) can noninvasively assess cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes observed post-injury, this technique is underutilized in TBI research partly due to the low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) inherent in ASL imaging. The aim of the current study is to examine the use of machine learning, specifically a Support …

Dabigatran Reduces Thrombin-Induced Neuroinflammation And Ad Markers In Vitro: Therapeutic Relevance For Alzheimer's Disease, Syed Waseem Bihaqi, Haripriya Vittal Rao, Abhik Sen, Paula Grammas

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Background: Vascular risk factors such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, and elevated homocysteine levels are strongly correlated with onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Emerging evidence indicates that blood coagulation protein thrombin is associated with vascular and non-vascular risk factors of AD. Here, we examined the effect of thrombin and its direct inhibitor dabigatran on key mediators of neuro-inflammation and AD pathology in the retinoic acid (RA)-differentiated human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y. Methods: SH-SY5Y cells exposed to thrombin concentrations (10–100 nM) +/- 250 nM dabigatran for 24 h were analyzed for protein and gene expression. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) was used to …

C25: The “Spot Sign”: A Predictor Of Hematoma Expansion, Mckenzie Merritt

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Microrna-Based Biomarkers In Alzheimer’S Disease (Ad), Yuhai Zhao, Vivian Jaber, Peter N. Alexandrov, Andrea Vergallo, Simone Lista, Harald Hampel, Walter J. Lukiw

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a multifactorial, age-related neurological disease characterized by complex pathophysiological dynamics taking place at multiple biological levels, including molecular, genetic, epigenetic, cellular and large-scale brain networks. These alterations account for multiple pathophysiological mechanisms such as brain protein accumulation, neuroinflammatory/neuro-immune processes, synaptic dysfunction, and neurodegeneration that eventually lead to cognitive and behavioral decline. Alterations in microRNA (miRNA) signaling have been implicated in the epigenetics and molecular genetics of all neurobiological processes associated with AD pathophysiology. These changes encompass altered miRNA abundance, speciation and complexity in anatomical regions of the CNS targeted by the disease, including modified miRNA expression …

Spinal Cord Trauma: An Overview Of Normal Structure And Function, Primary And Secondary Mechanisms Of Injury, And Emerging Treatment Modalities, Daniel Morin

Senior Honors Theses

The structures of the spinal cord and vertebral column are designed to provide flexibility, while still providing ample protection for the spinal cord deep within. While it does offer remarkable protection against most routine trauma, the spinal cord is still vulnerable to high-force etiologies of trauma and may become damaged as a result. These events are referred to as primary injury. Following the initial injury, the body’s own physiological responses cause a cascade of deleterious effects, known as secondary injury. Secondary injury is a major therapeutic target in mitigating the effects of spinal cord injury (SCI), and much research is …

Acute Effects Of Diets Rich In Almonds And Walnuts On Endothelial Function, Ravindra Bhardwaj, Harvinder Dod, Manjinder S. Sandhu, Rohil Bedi, Sachin Dod, Gregory Konat, H.K. Chopra, Rakesh Sharma, Abnash C. Jain, Navin Nanda

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Objective: Omega-3 fatty acids, especially alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which are present in nuts may reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, by changing vascular inflammation and improving endothelial dysfunction. The objective of the study was to evaluate the acute effects of two different diets, one containing walnuts and the other almonds on endothelial function.

Methods: Twenty-seven overweight volunteers underwent a randomized 2-period, crossover, controlled intervention study. The subjects were given either walnut or almond diets which varied in monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content. The walnut diet provided 23.1% energy from PUFA and the almond diet provided 7.6% …

Looking To The Future Of Stroke Treatment: Combining Recanalization And Neuroprotection In Acute Ischemic Stroke, Michael E. Maniskas

Theses and Dissertations--Neuroscience

Stroke is the 5^th leading cause of death in the U.S. with 130,000 deaths and around 800,000 affected annually. Currently, there is a significant disconnect between basic stroke research and clinical stroke therapeutic needs. Few animal models of stroke target the large vessels that produce cortical deficits seen in the clinical setting. Also, current routes of drug administration, intraperitoneal and intravenous, do not mimic the clinical route of intra-arterial drug administration. To bridge this divide, we have retro-engineered a mouse model of stroke from the current standard of care for emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO) stroke, endovascular thrombectomy, to …

Intracranial Surgery, William T. Grant

Medical Arts and Sciences: A Scientific Journal of the College of Medical Evangelists

No abstract provided.