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Role Of Astrocyte Network In Edema After Juvenile Traumatic Brain Injury, Andrew Minoru Fukuda
Role Of Astrocyte Network In Edema After Juvenile Traumatic Brain Injury, Andrew Minoru Fukuda
Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects
Juvenile traumatic brain injury (jTBI) is the leading cause of death and disability in young children and adolescents. Despite its lasting detrimental effects on the developing brain, no pharmacological treatment exists. One of the pathological hallmarks of jTBI is edema. Astrocytes play a key role in the edema process, and have been hypothesized that numerous astrocyte networks allow communication and propagation of edema and secondary injury spread. Two key astrocyte proteins are hypothesized to have a central role in the edema process: Aquaporin 4 (AQP4) and Connexin 43 (Cx43). AQP4 is expressed extensively in astrocyte endfeet, which surrounds the blood …