Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Development Of Improved Diagnostic Tests For Lyme Disease, Ezdehar Ghazal

NYMC Student Theses and Dissertations

Laboratory diagnosis is very critical for early treatment of Lyme disease, as Lyme disease could be difficult to diagnose because of vague symptoms or the confusion with symptoms from other illnesses. Previously, the standard two tiered-testing (STTT) was the traditional testing for Lyme disease with two different lab testing methods, Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA) as the first-tier test and immunoblot as the second-tier test to confirm the diagnosis. However, western immunoblotting had a poor sensitivity of <50% for early Lyme disease and high costs. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the use of a modified two tiered-testing (MTTT) which was cleared by The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in which EIA can be used instead of western immunoblotting.

In this study we followed a recent multiplexed paper-based immunoassay study for early Lyme disease serodiagnostic testing by using an Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) …

Influenza Vaccine Uptake In Caregivers And Non-Caregivers: Implications For Policy And Practice, Nicholas Mercado

NYMC Student Theses and Dissertations

Background: Caregivers are a critical and highly utilized healthcare resource. Previous research suggests that caregivers experience adverse physical and mental health outcomes and practice less self-care while serving their role. Influenza, or the flu, is a common and infectious disease caused by a virus that is responsible for millions of doctor visits, hospitalizations, and approximately 43,000 deaths annually. The most effective measure for addressing the flu is primary prevention, which includes a seasonal flu vaccine. Methods: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from 2016-2018 were analyzed. The study population included 154,170 respondents from 27 states and the District of …

Heterologous Expression Of Babesia Microti Secreted Antigen (Bmsa1) In A Pichia Pastoris Expression System For The Development Of An Antigen Specific Elisa, Anthony Centone

NYMC Student Theses and Dissertations

Babesia microti is a tick born, intraerythrocytic parasite that is endemic to many North American regions. B. microti infection causes a disease called babesiosis, a disease whose clinical manifestation causes a wide range of symptoms, from asymptomatic infection to fulminant disease and possible death. Transfusion transmitted babesiosis is becoming an increasing concern as B. microti prevalence continues to grow and donor screening methods are ineffective. Transfusion transmitted babesiosis can be extremely dangerous, with as many as one in five cases resulting in death. Babesia microti secreted antigen (BmSA1) is an immunogen and reliable biomarker for B. microti infection. The aim …

Ion Channel Candidates Mediating Orexin Neuropeptide Actions On Brainstem Serotonergic Neurons, Saqlain Javed

NYMC Student Theses and Dissertations

A loss of neurons that synthesize the neuropeptide orexin produces the sleep disorder narcolepsy with cataplexy in humans and other animals. How symptoms of this disorder arise is not well understood, but selectively restoring orexin actions at 5-HT DR neurons rescues key symptoms (cataplexy), suggesting normal orexin signaling is important at these neurons. To better understand how orexin acts on these neurons, our lab identified a set of novel orexin actions that appear mediated by unidentified cation- permeable ion channels. To narrow down the list of possible channels, we used a bioinformatics approach to compare published gene expression profiles of …

Pharmacological Blockade Of The 20-Hete Receptor Lowers Blood Pressure And Alters Vascular Function In Mice With Vascular Smooth Muscle- Specific Overexpression Of Cyp4a12-20-Hete Synthase, Kevin Agostinucci

NYMC Student Theses and Dissertations

20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) is the ω-hydroxylation product of arachidonic acid catalyzed by CYP4A and 4F enzymes. 20-HETE is a vasoactive eicosanoid of the microcirculation exhibiting effects on both vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) and endothelial cells (EC). In VSMCs, 20-HETE’s bioactions include the stimulation of contraction, migration, and growth. In ECs, elevated 20-HETE is associated with reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, increased angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) expression, and the promotion of inflammation. Recently in our laboratory, we identified GPR75 as a novel target of 20-HETE that promotes changes in blood pressure and vascular function. The aim of this study is …