Neurosciences Commons^™

The Involvement Of Kynurenine Pathway In Neurodegenerative Diseases, Lais B Martins, Ana L M Silveira, Antonio L Teixeira

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: A growing body of evidence has shown the involvement of the kynurenine pathway (KP), the primary route of tryptophan (TRP) catabolism, in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The study aims to provide a comprehensive and critical overview of the clinical evidence on the KP involvement in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), discussing therapeutic opportunities.

METHODS: We searched for studies investigating KP metabolites in human subjects with AD and/or PD.

RESULTS: Postmortem studies showed altered levels of KP metabolites in the brain of AD and PD patients compared with controls. Cross-sectional studies have reported …

Mass Spectrometry Imaging As An Emerging Tool For Studying Metabolism In Human Brain Organoids, Gerarda Cappuccio, Saleh M Khalil, Sivan Osenberg, Feng Li, Mirjana Maletic-Savatic

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Human brain organoids are emerging models to study human brain development and pathology as they recapitulate the development and characteristics of major neural cell types, and enable manipulation through an in vitro system. Over the past decade, with the advent of spatial technologies, mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has become a prominent tool for metabolic microscopy, providing label-free, non-targeted molecular and spatial distribution information of the metabolites within tissue, including lipids. This technology has never been used for studies of brain organoids and here, we set out to develop a standardized protocol for preparation and mass spectrometry imaging of human brain …

Forniceal Deep Brain Stimulation In A Mouse Model Of Rett Syndrome Increases Neurogenesis And Hippocampal Memory Beyond The Treatment Period, Qi Wang, Bin Tang, Shuang Hao, Zhenyu Wu, Tingting Yang, Jianrong Tang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Rett syndrome (RTT), caused by mutations in the X-linked gene encoding methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2), severely impairs learning and memory. We previously showed that forniceal deep brain stimulation (DBS) stimulates hippocampal neurogenesis with concomitant improvements in hippocampal-dependent learning and memory in a mouse model of RTT.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the duration of DBS benefits; characterize DBS effects on hippocampal neurogenesis; and determine whether DBS influences MECP2 genotype and survival of newborn dentate granular cells (DGCs) in RTT mice.

METHODS: Chronic DBS was delivered through an electrode implanted in the fimbria-fornix. We tested separate cohorts of mice in contextual …

Sex-Specific Associations Between Urinary Bisphenols Concentrations During Pregnancy And Problematic Child Behaviors At Age 2 Years, Sarah Dee Geiger, Salma Musaad, Jennifer Hill, Andréa Aguiar, Susan Schantz

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Effects of prenatal bisphenol A (BPA) exposure on child behavior are mixed with some reports suggesting increased problematic behaviors in girls (e.g., aggression and emotional reactivity) and in boys (i.e., externalizing behaviors), while other reports suggest decreased problematic behaviors in girls. Little is known about the potential impact of pregnancy bisphenol S (BPS) exposure on child behavior. In a prospective cohort study (n=68), five maternal spot urine samples collected across pregnancy were pooled and analyzed for BPA and BPS. Child behavior at 2 years was assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Linear regression models were used to assess associations …

Automated Artifact Injection Into Sensing-Capable Brain Modulation Devices For Neural-Behavioral Synchronization And The Influence Of Device State, Michaela E Alarie, Nicole R Provenza, Jeffrey A Herron, Wael F Asaad

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Attenuating Side Effects Of Deep Brain Stimulation In The Bed Nucleus Of The Stria Terminalis For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Using Current-Steering Strategies, Huy Q Dang, Nicole R Provenza, Garrett P Banks, Nisha Giridharan, Michelle Avendano-Ortega, Sarah A Mckay, Ethan Devara, Ben Shofty, Eric A Storch, Sameer A Sheth, Wayne K Goodman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Advances In Imaging Modalities For Pediatric Brain And Spinal Cord Tumors, Thierry A G M Huisman, Rajan Patel, Stephen Kralik, Nilesh K Desai, Avner Meoded, Karen Chen, Howard L Weiner, Daniel J Curry, Maarten Lequin, Mariette Kranendonk, Gunes Orman, George Jallo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Neuroimaging has evolved from anatomical imaging toward a multi-modality comprehensive anatomical and functional imaging in the past decades, important functional data like perfusion-weighted imaging, permeability imaging, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), tractography, metabolic imaging, connectomics, event-related functional imaging, resting state functional imaging, and much more is now being offered.

Summary: Precision diagnostics has proven to be essential for precision treatment. Many minimal invasive techniques have been developed, taking advantage of digital subtraction angiography and interventional neuroradiology. Furthermore, intraoperative CT and/or MRI and more recently MR-guided focused ultrasound have complemented the diagnostic and therapeutic armamentarium.

Key messages: …

Editorial: Molecular Mechanisms In Ocular Development And Disease, Rajalekshmy Shyam, Daisy Y Shu, Elizabeth Zuniga-Sanchez, Deepika Vasudevan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Editorial: Peripheral Stimulation: Neuromodulation Of The Central Nervous System Through Existing Pathways, Musa Ozturk, Julio Cesar Hernandez-Pavon, Alexander Kent, Jose L Pons, Ilknur Telkes, Arjun Tarakad

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Hippocampal Δfosb Expression Is Associated With Cognitive Impairment In A Subgroup Of Patients With Childhood Epilepsies, Chia-Hsuan Fu, Jason C You, Carrie Mohila, Robert A Rissman, Daniel Yoshor, Angela N Viaene, Jeannie Chin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures, and is often comorbid with other neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Patients with recurrent seizures often present with cognitive impairment. However, it is unclear how seizures, even when infrequent, produce long-lasting deficits in cognition. One mechanism may be seizure-induced expression of ΔFosB, a long-lived transcription factor that persistently regulates expression of plasticity-related genes and drives cognitive dysfunction. We previously found that, compared with cognitively-intact subjects, the activity-dependent expression of ΔFosB in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) was increased in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and …

The Tmem106b T186s Coding Variant Increases Neurite Arborization And Synaptic Density In Primary Hippocampal Neurons, Quynh Nguyen, Caleb A Wood, Peter J Kim, Joanna L Jankowsky

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The lysosomal protein TMEM106B was identified as a risk modifier of multiple dementias including frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The gene comes in two major haplotypes, one associated with disease risk, and by comparison, the other with resilience. Only one coding polymorphism distinguishes the two alleles, a threonine-to-serine substitution at residue 185 (186 in mouse), that is inherited in disequilibrium with multiple non-coding variants. Transcriptional studies suggest synaptic, neuronal, and cognitive preservation in human subjects with the protective haplotype, while murine in vitro studies reveal dramatic effects of TMEM106B deletion on neuronal development. Despite this foundation, the field has not …

Framework For Accurate Classification Of Self-Reported Stress From Multisession Functional Mri Data Of Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress, Rahul Goel, Teresa Tse, Lia J Smith, Andrew Floren, Bruce Naylor, M Wright Williams, Ramiro Salas, Albert S Rizzo, David Ress

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a significant burden among combat Veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While empirically supported treatments have demonstrated reductions in PTSD symptomatology, there remains a need to improve treatment effectiveness. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neurofeedback has emerged as a possible treatment to ameliorate PTSD symptom severity. Virtual reality (VR) approaches have also shown promise in increasing treatment compliance and outcomes. To facilitate fMRI neurofeedback-associated therapies, it would be advantageous to accurately classify internal brain stress levels while Veterans are exposed to trauma-associated VR imagery. Methods: Across 2 sessions, we used fMRI …

5-Aminolevulinic Acid, Fluorescein Sodium, And Indocyanine Green For Glioma Margin Detection: Analysis Of Operating Wide-Field And Confocal Microscopy In Glioma Models Of Various Grades, Evgenii Belykh, Liudmila Bardonova, Irakliy Abramov, Vadim A Byvaltsev, Talgat Kerymbayev, Kwanha Yu, Debbie R Healey, Ernesto Luna-Melendez, Benjamin Deneen, Shwetal Mehta, James K Liu, Mark C Preul

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Surgical resection remains the first-line treatment for gliomas. Several fluorescent dyes are currently in use to augment intraoperative tumor visualization, but information on their comparative effectiveness is lacking. We performed systematic assessment of fluorescein sodium (FNa), 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-induced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), and indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence in various glioma models using advanced fluorescence imaging techniques.

METHODS: Four glioma models were used: GL261 (high-grade model), GB3 (low-grade model), and an

RESULTS: Our systematic analysis showed that wide-field imaging of highly malignant gliomas is equally efficient with 5-ALA, FNa, and ICG, although FNa is associated with more false-positive staining of …

Primary Spinal Intramedullary Anaplastic Ganglioglioma In A Pediatric Patient, Huy Dang, Abdul Basit Khan, Nisha Gadgil, Marc Prablek, Frank Y Lin, Melissa M Blessing, Guillermo Aldave, David Bauer

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Gangliogliomas (GGs) are rare tumors of the central nervous system composed of neoplastic neural and glial cells and are typically low-grade. Intramedullary spinal anaplastic GGs (AGG) are rare, poorly understood, and often aggressive tumors that can result in widespread progression along the craniospinal axis. Due to the rarity of these tumors, data are lacking to guide clinical and pathologic diagnosis and standard of care treatment. Here, we present a case of pediatric spinal AGG to provide information on our institutional approach to work-up and to highlight unique molecular pathology.

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 13-year-old female presented with signs of spinal …

Linked-Read Based Analysis Of The Medulloblastoma Genome, Melissa Zwaig, Michael J Johnston, John J Y Lee, Hamza Farooq, Marco Gallo, Nada Jabado, Michael D Taylor, Jiannis Ragoussis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Medulloblastoma is the most common type of malignant pediatric brain tumor with group 4 medulloblastomas (G4 MBs) accounting for 40% of cases. However, the molecular mechanisms that underlie this subgroup are still poorly understood. Point mutations are detected in a large number of genes at low incidence per gene while the detection of complex structural variants in recurrently affected genes typically requires the application of long-read technologies.

METHODS: Here, we applied linked-read sequencing, which combines the long-range genome information of long-read sequencing with the high base pair accuracy of short read sequencing and very low sample input requirements.

RESULTS: …

Spatial Analysis Of Nanoparticle Distribution In Human Breast Xenografts Reveals Nanoparticles Targeted To Cancer Cells Localized With Tumor-Associated Stromal Cells, Sean Healy, Elizabeth T Henderson, Suqi Ke, Jacqueline Kelly, Brian W Simons, Chen Hu, Robert Ivkov, Preethi Korangath

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The biological influence of physicochemical parameters of “targeted” nanoparticles on their delivery to cancer tumors remains poorly understood. A comparative analysis of nanoparticle distributions in tumors following systemic delivery across several models can provide valuable insights.

Methods: Bionized nanoferrite nanoparticles (iron oxide core coated with starch), either conjugated with a targeted anti-HER2 antibody (BH), or unconjugated (BP), were intravenously injected into athymic nude or NOD-scid gamma (NSG) female mice bearing one of five human breast cancer tumor xenografts growing in a mammary fat pad. Tumors were harvested 24 hours after nanoparticle injection, fixed, mounted, and stained. We performed detailed histopathology …

Protocol For The Promoting Resilience In Stress Management (Prism) Intervention: A Multi-Site Randomized Controlled Trial For Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes, Maeve B O'Donnell, Samantha R Scott, Britney M Ellisor, Viena T Cao, Chuan Zhou, Miranda C Bradford, Catherine Pihoker, Daniel J Desalvo, Faisal S Malik, Marisa E Hilliard, Abby R Rosenberg, Joyce P Yi-Frazier

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are at high risk for elevated diabetes distress, which greatly impacts diabetes management, glycemic outcomes and overall quality of life. Developing protective skills and "resilience resources" to navigate adversity and manage diabetes distress has high potential to help adolescents with T1D achieve optimal behavioral, psychological, and health outcomes. The "Promoting Resilience in Stress Management" (PRISM) program is a manualized, brief, skills-based intervention delivered over 6 months via two 45-60 min one-on-one sessions and a family meeting with a PRISM coach, and supplemented by booster calls and a digital app. This trial (PRISM versus …

The Role Of Supervised School Therapy In Poorly Controlled Asthma In Children, Muppala Raju, Malvika Sagar, Andrew Bush, Eugene Quaye, Shekhar Ghamande, Sonal Malhotra, Mercedes E Arroliga

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: In children, nonadherence to inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapy leads to poor asthma control and complications.

METHODS: We evaluated the benefit from initiation of ICS administration once daily at school. We retrospectively chose patients from our pediatric pulmonary clinic who had poorly controlled asthma and prescribed ICS daily. For the study period, we examined the number of corticosteroid courses, emergency room visits, hospital admissions, symptom history, and pulmonary function tests.

RESULTS: Thirty-four patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria began the intervention. Preintervention, there were a mean number of 2.6 oral corticosteroid courses compared to 2 courses in the year following …

Cerebellar Dysfunction In Rodent Models With Dystonia, Tremor, And Ataxia, Meike E Van Der Heijden, Roy V Sillitoe

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Dystonia is a movement disorder characterized by involuntary co- or over-contractions of the muscles, which results in abnormal postures and movements. These symptoms arise from the pathophysiology of a brain-wide dystonia network. There is mounting evidence suggesting that the cerebellum is a central node in this network. For example, manipulations that target the cerebellum cause dystonic symptoms in mice, and cerebellar neuromodulation reduces these symptoms. Although numerous findings provide insight into dystonia pathophysiology, they also raise further questions. Namely, how does cerebellar pathophysiology cause the diverse motor abnormalities in dystonia, tremor, and ataxia? Here, we describe recent work in rodents …

Upregulation Of The Escrt Pathway And Multivesicular Bodies Accelerates Degradation Of Proteins Associated With Neurodegeneration, Ron Benyair, Sai Srinivas Panapakkam Giridharan, Pilar Rivero-Ríos, Junya Hasegawa, Emily Bristow, Eeva-Liisa Eskelinen, Merav D Shmueli, Vered Fishbain-Yoskovitz, Yifat Merbl, Lisa M Sharkey, Henry L Paulson, Phyllis I Hanson, Samarjit Patnaik, Ismael Al-Ramahi, Juan Botas, Juan Marugan, Lois S Weisman

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Many neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington’s disease (HD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), occur due to an accumulation of aggregation-prone proteins, which results in neuronal death. Studies in animal and cell models show that reducing the levels of these proteins mitigates disease phenotypes. We previously reported a small molecule, NCT-504, which reduces cellular levels of mutant huntingtin (mHTT) in patient fibroblasts as well as mouse striatal and cortical neurons from an HdhQ111 mutant mouse. Here, we show that NCT-504 has a broader potential, and in addition reduces levels of Tau, a protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as other tauopathies. We …

Long-Term Neuropsychological Outcomes In Children With Febrile Infection-Related Epilepsy Syndrome (Fires) Treated With Anakinra, Anima Shrestha, E Lynne Wood, Gretchen Berrios-Siervo, Coral M Stredny, Katrina Boyer, Clemente Vega, Srishti Nangia, Eyal Muscal, Krista Eschbach

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Febrile-infection related epilepsy syndrome (FIRES) is a rare epilepsy syndrome in which a previously healthy individual develops refractory status epilepticus in the setting of a preceding febrile illness. There are limited data regarding detailed long-term outcomes. This study aims to describe the long-term neuropsychological outcomes in a series of pediatric patients with FIRES.

METHODS: This is a retrospective multi-center case series of pediatric patients with a diagnosis of FIRES treated acutely with anakinra who had neuropsychological testing at least 12 months after status epilepticus onset. Each patient underwent comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation as part of routine clinical care. Additional data …

Δfosb Is Part Of A Homeostatic Mechanism That Protects The Epileptic Brain From Further Deterioration, Jerome Clasadonte, Tania Deprez, Gabriel S Stephens, Georges Mairet-Coello, Pierre-Yves Cortin, Maxime Boutier, Aurore Frey, Jeannie Chin, Marek Rajman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Activity induced transcription factor ΔFosB plays a key role in different CNS disorders including epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, and addiction. Recent findings suggest that ΔFosB drives cognitive deficits in epilepsy and together with the emergence of small molecule inhibitors of ΔFosB activity makes it an interesting therapeutic target. However, whether ΔFosB contributes to pathophysiology or provides protection in drug-resistant epilepsy is still unclear. In this study, ΔFosB was specifically downregulated by delivering AAV-shRNA into the hippocampus of chronically epileptic mice using the drug-resistant pilocarpine model of mesial temporal epilepsy (mTLE). Immunohistochemistry analyses showed that prolonged downregulation of ΔFosB led to exacerbation …

The Role Of Hyperexcitability In Gliomagenesis, Eric A Goethe, Benjamin Deneen, Jeffrey Noebels, Ganesh Rao

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Glioblastoma is the most common malignant primary brain tumor. Recent studies have demonstrated that excitatory or activity-dependent signaling-both synaptic and non-synaptic-contribute to the progression of glioblastoma. Glutamatergic receptors may be stimulated via neuron-tumor synapses or release of glutamate by the tumor itself. Ion currents generated by these receptors directly alter the structure of membrane adhesion molecules and cytoskeletal proteins to promote migratory behavior. Additionally, the hyperexcitable milieu surrounding glioma increases the rate at which tumor cells proliferate and drive recurrent disease. Inhibition of excitatory signaling has shown to effectively reduce its pro-migratory and -proliferative effects.

Concurrent Idh1 And Idh2 Mutations In Glioblastoma: A Case Report, Ali S Haider, Chibawanye I Ene, Paolo Palmisciano, Maryam Haider, Ganesh Rao, Leomar Y Ballester, Gregory N Fuller

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations are cornerstone diagnostic features in glioma classification. IDH mutations are typically characterized by mutually exclusive amino acid substitutions in the genes encoding for the IDH1 and the IDH2 enzyme isoforms. We report our institutional case of a diffuse astrocytoma with progression to secondary glioblastoma and concurrent IDH1/IDH2 mutations. A 49-year-old male underwent a subtotal resection of a lobular lesion within the right insula in 2013, revealing a WHO grade 3 anaplastic oligoastrocytoma, IDH1 mutated, 1p19q intact. Symptomatic tumor progression was suspected in 2018, leading to a surgical tumor biopsy that demonstrated WHO grade 4 IDH1 and …

Cerebral Microdialysis And Glucopenia In Traumatic Brain Injury: A Review, Himanshu Sharma, John P Mcginnis, Katherine E Kabotyanski, Shankar P Gopinath, Jerry C Goodman, Claudia Robertson, Jovany Cruz Navarro

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Traditionally, intracranial pressure (ICP) and partial brain tissue oxygenation (PbtO2) have been the primary invasive intracranial measurements used to guide management in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). After injury however, the brain develops an increased metabolic demand which may require an increment in the oxidative metabolism of glucose. Simultaneously, metabolic, and electrical dysfunction can lead to an inability to meet these demands, even in the absence of ischemia or increased intracranial pressure. Cerebral microdialysis provides the ability to accurately measure local concentrations of various solutes including lactate, pyruvate, glycerol and glucose. Experimental and clinical data demonstrate that such …

An Initial Experience Of Completion Hemispherotomy Via Magnetic Resonance-Guided Laser Interstitial Therapy, Vijay M Ravindra, Lucia Ruggieri, Nisha Gadgil, Angela P Addison, Ilana Patino, David D Gonda, Jason Chu, Laura Whitehead, Anne Anderson, Gloria Diaz-Medina, Kimberly Houck, Akshat Katyayan, Laura Masters, Audrey Nath, Michael Quach, James John Riviello, Elaine Seto, Krystal Elizabeth Sully, Latanya Agurs, Sonali Sen, Maureen Handoko, Rohini Coorg, Irfan Ali, Daniel Ikeda, Howard Weiner, Daniel J Curry

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Introduction: In carefully selected patients with medically refractory epilepsy, disconnective hemispherotomy can result in significant seizure freedom; however, incomplete disconnection can result in ongoing seizures and poses a significant challenge. Completion hemispherotomy provides an opportunity to finish the disconnection. We describe the use of magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal ablation (MRgLITT) for completion hemispherotomy.

Methods: Patients treated with completion hemispherotomy using MRgLITT at our institution were identified. Procedural and seizure outcomes were evaluated retrospectively.

Results: Five patients (3 males) underwent six MRgLITT procedures (one child treated twice) for completion hemispherotomy at a median age of 6 years (range 1.8-12.9). Two …

Social Behavioral Impairments In Syngap1-Related Intellectual Disability, Hajer Naveed, Maria Mccormack, J Lloyd Holder

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Introduction: Developmental synaptopathies are neurodevelopmental disorders caused by genetic mutations disrupting the development and function of neuronal synapses.

Methods: We administered the validated Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (SRS-2) to investigate the phenotypic presentation of social-behavioral impairments for the developmental synaptopathy-SYNGAP1-related Intellectual Disability (SYNGAP1-ID) (n = 32) compared with a phenotypically similar disorder Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMD) (n = 27) and healthy controls (n = 43). A short form SRS-2 analysis (n = 85) was also conducted.

Results: Both SYNGAP1-ID and PMD had significantly elevated total and subcategory T-scores, with no significant score differences between SYNGAP1 …

Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy: Correlation Of Postoperative Imaging With Neuropathological Findings, Sarah E Blitz, Matthew Torre, Melissa M J Chua, Sarah L Christie, Nathan J Mcdannold, G Rees Cosgrove

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Magnetic resonance-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is a rapidly developing technique used for tremor relief in tremor-predominant Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor that has demonstrated successful results. Here, we describe the neuropathological findings in a woman who died from a fall 10 days after successful MRgFUS for tremor-predominant PD. Histological analysis demonstrates the characteristic early postoperative MRI findings including 3 distinct zones on T2-weighted imaging: (1) a hypointense core, (2) a hyperintense region with hypointense rim, and (3) a slightly hyperintense, poorly marginated surrounding area. Histopathological analyses also demonstrate the suspected cellular processes composing each of these regions including …

Specialized Intensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Is Crucial And Time-Sensitive For Functional Recovery From Disorders Of Consciousness, Bei Zhang, Katherine O'Brien, Jean Woo, Bradley Chi, Colton Reeh, Sheng Li, Sunil Kothari

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Disorders of consciousness (DoCs) after severe brain injury are considered to be conditions with dire prognosis. Despite the accumulating evidence, inpatient rehabilitation is often denied by payers referring to the Medicare/Medicaid criteria, under the assumption that such patients will not "

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to report on the effectiveness and efficiency of a specialized inpatient DoC rehabilitation program based on measurable clinical parameters.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted. The cohort comprised 137 patients with DoC admitted to a specialized acute inpatient rehabilitation program between January 2014 and October 2018. Patients were categorized as having been admitted …

Function And Dysfunction Of The Dystonia Network: An Exploration Of Neural Circuits That Underlie The Acquired And Isolated Dystonias, Jason S Gill, Megan X Nguyen, Mariam Hull, Meike E Van Der Heijden, Ken Nguyen, Sruthi P Thomas, Roy V Sillitoe

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Dystonia is a highly prevalent movement disorder that can manifest at any time across the lifespan. An increasing number of investigations have tied this disorder to dysfunction of a broad "dystonia network" encompassing the cerebellum, thalamus, basal ganglia, and cortex. However, pinpointing how dysfunction of the various anatomic components of the network produces the wide variety of dystonia presentations across etiologies remains a difficult problem. In this review, a discussion of functional network findings in non-mendelian etiologies of dystonia is undertaken. Initially acquired etiologies of dystonia and how lesion location leads to alterations in network function are explored, first through …