Musculoskeletal, Neural, and Ocular Physiology Commons^™

Microbiopsy Sampling For Examining Age-Related Differences In Skeletal Muscle Fiber Morphology And Composition, Garrett Hester, Trisha Vandusseldorp, Phuong L. Ha, Kaveh Kiani, Alex A. Olmos, Melody Jabbari, Shania Kalladanthyil, Soobin An, Alyssa R. Bailly, Benjamin E. Dalton, Anton Bryantsev

Faculty and Research Publications

The increasingly popular microbiopsy is an appealing alternative to the more invasive Bergström biopsy given the challenges associated with harvesting skeletal muscle in older populations. Parameters of muscle fiber morphology and composition derived from the microbiopsy have not been compared between young and older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine muscle fiber morphology and composition in young (YM) and older (OM) males using the microbiopsy sampling technique. A secondary aim was to determine if specific strength is associated with serum levels of C-terminal agrin fragment [CAF; an indicator of neuromuscular junction (NMJ) degradation]. Thirty healthy, YM ( …

Joint-Specific Changes In Locomotor Complexity In The Absence Of Muscle Atrophy Following Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury, Brian K. Hillen, Gary T. Yamaguchi, James J. Abbas, Ranu Jung

Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

ackground

Following incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI), descending drive is impaired, possibly leading to a decrease in the complexity of gait. To test the hypothesis that iSCI impairs gait coordination and decreases locomotor complexity, we collected 3D joint angle kinematics and muscle parameters of rats with a sham or an incomplete spinal cord injury.

Methods

12 adult, female, Long-Evans rats, 6 sham and 6 mild-moderate T8 iSCI, were tested 4 weeks following injury. The Basso Beattie Bresnahan locomotor score was used to verify injury severity. Animals had reflective markers placed on the bony prominences of their limb joints and were …