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Biochemistry Commons

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Theses/Dissertations

Loma Linda University

Medical Biochemistry

Preconditioning; Endogenous Protective Mechanisms; Surgical Brain Injury Rodent Model; Endogenous Fibrinogen; Perioperative Hemorrhage; Postoperative Brain Edema

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Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry

Crotalus Snake Venom Preconditioning To Prevent Surgical Brain Injury, Cherine Hee-Sun Kim Jun 2015

Crotalus Snake Venom Preconditioning To Prevent Surgical Brain Injury, Cherine Hee-Sun Kim

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Preventive measures are increasingly relevant to medical practice. Preconditioning, a preemptive therapy that administers mildly harmful stimuli to induce endogenous protective mechanisms before major injury, has been shown to minimize injury in many animal models. Given the elective nature of most neurosurgical procedures, the surgical brain injury (SBI) rodent model provides an ideal platform for preconditioning. Our work shows that preconditioning with Crotalus rattlesnake venom, known for its hemorrhagic and inflammatory effects, mitigates some harmful effects of SBI. We have identified two proteins of interest in Crotalus venom: snake venom metalloproteinase (SVMP), an enzyme with hemorrhagic effects, and phospholipase A2 …