Neurology Commons^™

Guillain‐Barre Syndrome In Covid-19: A Literature Review, Imran Ahmad, Farooq Azam Rathore

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) can result in several neurological complications including Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). It is an acute parainfectious paralytic neuropathy. This review summarizes the demographic features, clinical presentation, diagnostics workup, and management strategies of COVID-19 associated GBS reported in the literature. We searched Medline, PubMed Central, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar using pre-defined keywords. We included all kinds of manuscripts in the English language only. Demographics, clinical features, diagnostic workup, management, and outcomes were documented in the datasheet. We identified 24 cases of COVID-19 associated GBS. Most were reported from Italy, followed by the USA. The majority were males (18/24) …

The Efficacy And Tolerability Of Auto-Stimulation-Vns In Children With Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome., Sherouk A. Abdelmoity, Ayman Abdelmoity, Sean M. Riordan, Christian Kaufman, Jean-Baptist Lepichon, Ahmed Abdelmoity

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVE: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is a severe drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) of childhood. The Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) is established as a safe and effective treatment for DRE. This study assesses efficacy and tolerability of the auto-stimulation VNS models in pediatric patients with LGS.

METHODS: This is a retrospective chart review of a cohort of pediatric patients (Age 1-18 years old) with LGS implanted with an auto-stimulation VNS model at a single level four pediatric epilepsy center. Patient responder's rate was measured as seizure reduction over baseline and improvements in five quality-of-life measures as reported by the patients and families. Efficacy …

Effectiveness Of Cidofovir In Treating Natalizumab-Associated Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (Pml), Salman Mansoor

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Natalizumab (Nz) a monoclonal antibody has been in medicinal use for treatment of Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) since 2004. Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) is one of its serious risks which is a demyelinating disorder of brain associated with John Cunningham Virus (JCV). There have been 801 cases up till December 2018 which were reported with its use1. Lack of prospective trials and retrospective studies due to small number of these cases there is no consensus on Nz-associated PML treatment. To date there is no cure for this condition and there is a debate on effectiveness of different modalities2. Cidofovir …

Effect Of Listening To A Relaxing Water Sound For Fifteen Minutes On Traumatic Stress Subjects’ Immediate Stress Levels And Electroencephalograms, S. Farah Jafri, S. Farah Batool, Shamoon Noushad

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

BACKGROUND: Music and calmness are noteworthy stimulators that significantly affect mental health. Listening to relaxing sounds activates the feeling of wellbeing. The present study aimed to analyze the effect of closed eyes brief exposure to a relaxing water sound on Electroencephalogram (EEG) in pre and post-test states. METHODOLOGY: A total of 20 traumatic stress subjects were included to participate in this study. The subjects were requested to be seated with eyes closed while the sound of water flowing was played for 15 min in between (before and after) the EEG recordings. A subsection of the Sadaf Stress Scale (SSS) i.e. …

Covid-19 Vaccines And Cerebral Venous Thrombosis, Sajid Hameed, Mohammad Wasay

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

No abstract provided.

Cases Of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder From The East Africa Region, Highlighting Challenges In Diagnostics And Healthcare Access, Dilraj Sokhi, Adil Suleiman, Soraiya Manji, Juzar Hooker, Peter Mativo

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an auto-immune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) associated with the IgG-antibody against aquaporin-4 (AQP4-IgG). There is little published epidemiology of NMOSD from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Methods: We retrospectively collated NMOSD cases admitted to our tertiary regional neurology centre.

Results: We identified 11 cases (10 female, average age 30 years). 64% (7/11) were seropositive for AQP4-IgG, measured using indirect immunofluorescence. The remaining cases could either not afford tests, or had patho-gnomonic radiological features. 57% (4/7) of seropositive cases had concurrent/recent CNS infection. All pa-tients were treated with high-dose intravenous …

Biomechanics Of Circumferential Cervical Fixation Using Posterior Facet Cages: A Cadaveric Study., Bernardo De Andrada Pereira, Joshua Pelta-Heller, Jennifer N Lehrman, Anna G U Sawa, Brian P Kelly

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is a common procedure for the treatment of cervical disease. Circumferential procedures are options for multilevel pathology. Potential complications of multilevel anterior procedures are dysphagia and pseudarthrosis, whereas potential complications of posterior surgery include development of cervical kyphosis and postoperative chronic neck pain. The addition of posterior cervical cages (PCCs) to multilevel ACDF is a minimally invasive option to perform circumferential fusion. This study evaluated the biomechanical performance of 3-level circumferential fusion with PCCs as supplemental fixation to anteriorly placed allografts, with and without anterior plate fixation.

METHODS: Nondestructive flexibility tests (1.5 Nm) …

A Biallelic Pathogenic Variant In The Ogdh Gene Results In A Neurological Disorder With Features Of A Mitochondrial Disease, Zheng Yie Yap, Klaudia Strucinska, Satoshi Matsuzaki, Sukyeong Lee, Yue Si, Kenneth Humphries, Mark A Tarnopolsky, Wan Hee Yoon

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

2-Oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (OGDH) is a rate-limiting enzyme in the mitochondrial TCA cycle, encoded by the OGDH gene. α-Ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (OGDH) deficiency was previously reported in association with developmental delay, hypotonia, and movement disorders and metabolic decompensation, with no genetic data provided. Using whole exome sequencing, we identified two individuals carrying a homozygous missense variant c.959A>G (p.N320S) in the OGDH gene. These individuals presented with global developmental delay, elevated lactate, ataxia and seizure. Fibroblast analysis and modeling of the mutation in Drosophila were used to evaluate pathogenicity of the variant. Skin fibroblasts from subject # 2 showed a decrease in …

Differential Leukocyte And Platelet Profiles In Distinct Models Of Traumatic Brain Injury, William Brad Hubbard, Meenakshi Banerjee, Hemendra J. Vekaria, Kanakanagavalli Shravani Prakhya, Smita Joshi, Qingjun Wang, Kathryn E. Saatman, Sidney W. Whiteheart, Patrick G. Sullivan

Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center Faculty Publications

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects over 3 million individuals every year in the U.S. There is growing appreciation that TBI can produce systemic modifications, which are in part propagated through blood–brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction and blood–brain cell interactions. As such, platelets and leukocytes contribute to mechanisms of thromboinflammation after TBI. While these mechanisms have been investigated in experimental models of contusion brain injury, less is known regarding acute alterations following mild closed head injury. To investigate the role of platelet dynamics and bioenergetics after TBI, we employed two distinct, well-established models of TBI in mice: the controlled cortical impact (CCI) …

Gliosarcoma In Patients Under 20 Years Of Age. A Clinicopathologic Study Of 11 Cases And Detailed Review Of The Literature, Nasir Ud Din, Hira Ishtiaq, Shabina Rahim, Jamshid Abdul Ghafar, Zubair Ahmad

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: Gliosarcoma is a rare variant of IDH- wild type glioblastoma with both glial and mesenchymal differentiation. It accounts for approximately 2% of glioblastomas and has a poor prognosis similar to that of classic glioblastoma. It is seen mostly between 40 and 60 years of age with a mean age over 50 years. Pediatric gliosarcoma is even rarer than gliosarcoma in adults. We describe the clinicopathological features of gliosarcoma in patients under 20 years of age and determine whether there are significant differences from gliosarcoma in adults. We also present detailed review of published literature on pediatric gliosarcoma.
Methods: Slides …

Can Early Treatment Of Twitcher Mice With High Dose Aavrh10-Galc Eliminate The Need For Bmt?, Mohammad Rafi, Paola Luzi, David A Wenger

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Introduction: Krabbe disease (KD) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the galactocerebrosidase (GALC) gene resulting in neuro-inflammation and defective myelination in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Most infantile patients present with clinical features before six months of age and die before two years of age. The only treatment available for pre-symptomatic or mildly affected individuals is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In the animal models, combining bone marrow transplantation (BMT) with gene therapy has shown the best results in disease outcome. In this study, we examine the outcome of gene therapy alone.

Methods: Twitcher (twi) mice …

Glioma Stem Cells As Immunotherapeutic Targets: Advancements And Challenges, Keenan Piper, Lisa Depledge, Michael Karsy, Charles Cobbs

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

Glioblastoma is the most common and lethal primary brain malignancy. Despite major investments in research into glioblastoma biology and drug development, treatment remains limited and survival has not substantially improved beyond 1–2 years. Cancer stem cells (CSC) or glioma stem cells (GSC) refer to a population of tumor originating cells capable of self-renewal and differentiation. While controversial and challenging to study, evidence suggests that GCSs may result in glioblastoma tumor recurrence and resistance to treatment. Multiple treatment strategies have been suggested at targeting GCSs, including immunotherapy, posttranscriptional regulation, modulation of the tumor microenvironment, and epigenetic modulation. In this review, we …

Examining Criteria For Defining Persistent Post-Concussion Symptoms In Children And Adolescents, Grant L. Iverson, Justin E. Karr, Bruce Maxwell, Ross Zafonte, Paul D. Berkner, Nathan E. Cook

Psychology Faculty Publications

Researchers operationalize persistent post-concussion symptoms in children and adolescents using varied definitions. Many pre-existing conditions, personal characteristics, and current health issues can affect symptom endorsement rates in the absence of, or in combination with, a recent concussion, and the use of varied definitions can lead to differences in conclusions about persistent symptoms and recovery across studies. This study examined how endorsement rates varied by 14 different operational definitions of persistent post-concussion symptoms for uninjured boys and girls with and without pre-existing or current health problems. This cross-sectional study included a large sample (age range: 11–18) of girls (n = …

Gauging Working Memory Capacity From Differential Resting Brain Oscillations In Older Individuals With A Wearable Device, Soheil Borhani, Xiaopeng Zhao, Margaret R. Kelly, Karah E. Gottschalk, Fengpei Yuan, Gregory A. Jicha, Yang Jiang

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Working memory is a core cognitive function and its deficits is one of the most common cognitive impairments. Reduced working memory capacity manifests as reduced accuracy in memory recall and prolonged speed of memory retrieval in older adults. Currently, the relationship between healthy older individuals’ age-related changes in resting brain oscillations and their working memory capacity is not clear. Eyes-closed resting electroencephalogram (rEEG) is gaining momentum as a potential neuromarker of mild cognitive impairments. Wearable and wireless EEG headset measuring key electrophysiological brain signals during rest and a working memory task was utilized. This research’s central hypothesis is that rEEG …

CertL Reduces C16 Ceramide, Amyloid-Β Levels, And Inflammation In A Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Simone M. Crivelli, Qian Luo, Jo A. A. Stevens, Caterina Giovagnoni, Daan Van Kruining, Gerard Bode, Sandra Den Hoedt, Barbara Hobo, Anna-Lena Scheithauer, Jochen Walter, Monique T. Mulder, Christopher Exley, Matthew Mold, Michelle M. Mielke, Helga E. De Vries, Kristiaan Wouters, Daniel L. A. Van Den Hove, Dusan Berkes, María Dolores Ledesma, Joost Verhaagen, Mario Losen, Erhard Bieberich, Pilar Martinez-Martinez

Physiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Dysregulation of ceramide and sphingomyelin levels have been suggested to contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ceramide transfer proteins (CERTs) are ceramide carriers which are crucial for ceramide and sphingomyelin balance in cells. Extracellular forms of CERTs co-localize with amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques in AD brains. To date, the significance of these observations for the pathophysiology of AD remains uncertain.

METHODS: A plasmid expressing CERT_L, the long isoform of CERTs, was used to study the interaction of CERT_L with amyloid precursor protein (APP) by co-immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence in HEK cells. The recombinant CERT_L protein …

Anti-Sars-Cov-2 Antibodies Within Ivig Preparations: Cross-Reactivities With Seasonal Coronaviruses, Natural Autoimmunity, And Therapeutic Implications, Marinos Dalakas, Kleopatra Bitzogli, Harry Alexopoulos

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Introduction: Cross-reactivity to SARS-CoV-2 antigenic peptides has been detected on T-cells from pre-pandemic donors due to recognition of conserved protein fragments within members of the coronavirus's family. Further, preexisting antibodies recognizing SARS-CoV-2 with conserved epitopes in the spike region have been now seen in uninfected individuals. High-dose Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg), derived from thousands of healthy donors, contains natural IgG antibodies against various antigens which can be detected both within the IVIg preparations and in the serum of IVIg-receiving patients. Whether IVIg preparations from pre-pandemic donors also contain antibodies against pre-pandemic coronaviruses or autoreactive antibodies that cross-react with SARS-CoV-2 antigenic epitopes, …

Seizure Clusters, Seizure Severity Markers, And Sudep Risk., Manuela Ochoa-Urrea, Nuria Lacuey, Laura Vilella, Liang Zhu, Shirin Jamal-Omidi, M R Sandhya Rani, Johnson P Hampson, Mojtaba Dayyani, Jaison Hampson, Norma J Hupp, Shiqiang Tao, Rup K Sainju, Daniel Friedman, Maromi Nei, Catherine Scott, Luke Allen, Brian K Gehlbach, Victoria Reick-Mitrisin, Stephan Schuele, Jennifer Ogren, Ronald M Harper, Beate Diehl, Lisa M Bateman, Orrin Devinsky, George B Richerson, Guo-Qiang Zhang, Samden D Lhatoo

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Rationale: Seizure clusters may be related to Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). Two or more generalized convulsive seizures (GCS) were captured during video electroencephalography in 7/11 (64%) patients with monitored SUDEP in the MORTEMUS study. It follows that seizure clusters may be associated with epilepsy severity and possibly with SUDEP risk. We aimed to determine if electroclinical seizure features worsen from seizure to seizure within a cluster and possible associations between GCS clusters, markers of seizure severity, and SUDEP risk. Methods: Patients were consecutive, prospectively consented participants with drug-resistant epilepsy from a multi-center study. Seizure clusters were defined as …

Aberrant Maturation Of The Uncinate Fasciculus Follows Exposure To Unpredictable Patterns Of Maternal Signals, Steven J. Granger, Laura M. Glynn, Curt A. Sandman, Steven L. Small, Andre Obenaus, David B. Keator, Tallie Z. Baram, Hal S. Stern, Michael A. Yassa, Elyssia Poggi Davis

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Across species, unpredictable patterns of maternal behavior are emerging as novel predictors of aberrant cognitive and emotional outcomes later in life. In animal models, exposure to unpredictable patterns of maternal behavior alters brain circuit maturation and cognitive and emotional outcomes. However, whether exposure to such signals in humans alters the development of brain pathways is unknown. In mother–child dyads, we tested the hypothesis that exposure to more unpredictable maternal signals in infancy is associated with aberrant maturation of corticolimbic pathways. We focused on the uncinate fasciculus, the primary fiber bundle connecting the amygdala to the orbitofrontal cortex and a key …

The Rac-Gef Tiam1 Promotes Dendrite And Synapse Stabilization Of Dentate Granule Cells And Restricts Hippocampal-Dependent Memory Functions, Jinxuan Cheng, Federico Scala, Francisco A Blanco, Sanyong Niu, Karen Firozi, Laura Keehan, Shalaka Mulherkar, Emmanouil Froudarakis, Lingyong Li, Joseph G Duman, Xiaolong Jiang, Kimberley F Tolias

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The dentate gyrus (DG) controls information flow into the hippocampus and is critical for learning, memory, pattern separation, and spatial coding, while DG dysfunction is associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. Despite its importance, the molecular mechanisms regulating DG neural circuit assembly and function remain unclear. Here, we identify the Rac-GEF Tiam1 as an important regulator of DG development and associated memory processes. In the hippocampus, Tiam1 is predominantly expressed in the DG throughout life. Global deletion of Tiam1 in male mice results in DG granule cells with simplified dendritic arbors, reduced dendritic spine density, and diminished excitatory synaptic transmission. Notably, DG …

Machine Intelligence Identifies Soluble Tnfa As A Therapeutic Target For Spinal Cord Injury, J. R. Huie, A. R. Ferguson, N. Kyritsis, J. Z. Pan, K.-A. Irvine, J. L. Nielson, P. G. Schupp, M. C. Oldham, John C. Gensel, A. Lin, M. R. Segal, R. R. Ratan, J. C. Bresnahan, M. S. Beattie

Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center Faculty Publications

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) produces a complex syndrome that is expressed across multiple endpoints ranging from molecular and cellular changes to functional behavioral deficits. Effective therapeutic strategies for CNS injury are therefore likely to manifest multi-factorial effects across a broad range of biological and functional outcome measures. Thus, multivariate analytic approaches are needed to capture the linkage between biological and neurobehavioral outcomes. Injury-induced neuroinflammation (NI) presents a particularly challenging therapeutic target, since NI is involved in both degeneration and repair. Here, we used big-data integration and large-scale analytics to examine a large dataset of preclinical efficacy tests combining five …

Assessment Of Major Depressive Disorders Through Neuroimaging Studies And Their Treatment Methods, Jevetha Vijayadasan, Diksha Raghunathan, Sivakumar Rajagopal, Rahul Soangra

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Many mental disorders are caused due to improper regulation of the brain and depression is one such. It affects both children and adults and is very common among teenagers. There are many challenges clinicians face regarding the management of this disease. These challenges have prompted the development of various neuroimaging techniques that effectively diagnose the condition. The main techniques are Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Positron emission tomography (PET) which have gained momentum over the years. Advanced MRI techniques help study certain regions of the brain such as hippocampus and amygdala. Effective treatments for depression include antidepressant medications and brain …

Intramedullary Spinal Cord Lesions In Children, Ummey Hani, Sameer Saleem Tebha, Saqib Kamran Bakhshi, Muhammad Shahzad Shamim

Section of Neurosurgery

Paediatric intramedullary spinal cord lesions are uncommon pathologies, prone to result in dismal prognosis if not managed promptly and aggressively. While children usually present in good functional grades compared to adults, early recognition and treatment is important to improve outcomes. In this review, we present tumour demographics, patient factors, and treatment modalities of intramedullary spinal cord lesions in paediatric patients.

Complete Versus Subtotal Resection Of Paediatric Craniopharyngioma, Wardah Pervez, Saqib Kamran Bakhshi, Farhan A. Mirza, Muhammad Shahzad Shamim

Section of Neurosurgery

Optimal management of craniopharyngioma is challenging and requires multidisciplinary efforts for a successful outcome. The debate over radical versus a conservative resection followed by radiotherapy, continues. Current literature reports no difference in disease freedom and overall survival between the two surgical viewpoints, and favours conservative resection and radiotherapy, leading to lower morbidity and superior functional outcomes.

Rapid Decline In Telestroke Consults In The Setting Of Covid-19., Syed O. Shah., Robin Dharia, Jaime Stazi, Maureen Deprince, Robert H. Rosenwasswer

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

Background and Purpose: As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to be a global pandemic, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that incidence of diseases that require emergent care, particularly myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke, has declined rapidly. The objective of this study is to quantify our experience of telestroke (TS) consults at a large tertiary comprehensive stroke center during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed TS consults of patients presenting to our neuroscience network. Those with a confirmed diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemia attack were included. Data were compared from April 1, 2019, to …

Endovascular Coil Embolization Of Ruptured And Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms: Review Of A 15 Year Single Center Experience In Pakistan, Misha Khalid Khan, Muhammad Danish Barakzai, Mustafa Belal Hafeez Chaudhry, Tanveer Ul Haq, Muhammad Ehsan Bari, Raza Sayani

Department of Radiology

Objective: To assess the outcome of endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysm over 15 years.
Methods: The retrospective study was conducted at the at Radiology Department of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and comprised medical records from April 2003 to April 2018 of patients who received endovascular treatment for intracranial aneurysm. Multiple variables reviewed included demographics, clinical presentation, aneurysm morphology, technique used, technique outcome and clinical outcome. Data was analysed using SPSS 22.
Results: Of the 242 patients, 111(45.8%) were males and 131(54.1%) were female. The overall mean age was 46.3+/-13.543 years (range: 9-78years). Aneurysm size was <5mm in 95(40.4%) patients, 5-10mm in 98(41.7%) and >10mm in 42(17.9%) patients. …

Essential Tremor: A Review, Grant S. Taylor

Honors Projects

Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most prevalent movement disorders globally: approximately 1% of the population is affected (Haubenberger & Hallet, 2018). In the past, ET has been grossly oversimplified clinically and pathologically and only through recent study has the complexity of the disease process and presentation been made apparent. Despite the recent advances in research regarding ET, the general public is still largely unfamiliar with the various aspects of the disease (Cristal et al., 2018). Perhaps even more surprising is the similar lack of knowledge that ET patients have regarding their own disease (Cristal et al., 2018). Recent …

Heidenhain Variant Of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: First Reported Case From East Africa, Dilraj Sokhi, Fazal Yakub, Karishma Sharma, Sheila Was, Peter Mativo

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is a rare prion disease that causes rapidly progressive fatal neurodegeneration. The rarer Heidenhain variant of sCJD presents with visual symptoms and is rarely reported in the literature from sub-Saharan Africa. We report the case of a 57-year-old male with a three-week history of losing direction when driving home and visual hallucinations described as seeing rainbows. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed unilateral parieto-occipital sulcal hyperintensities with restriction on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and electroencephalography (EEG) showed right para-central slowing leading to an initial diagnosis of non-convulsive status epilepticus. He was treated with anti-epileptic medication …

Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumours: Clinicopathological Evaluation At Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, Nadira Mamoon, Hania Naveed, Mariam Abid, Humaira Nasir, Imran Nazir Ahmad, Zujajah Hameed, Asna Haroon Khan

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Objective: Clinicopathological features of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP-NETs) have rarely been studied in Pakistani population. We investigated clinical characteristics of these tumours according to updated World Health Organization (WHO) 2010 classification.
Methods: The data of Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad was retrospectively analysed for pathologically confirmed GEP-NETs from January 2013 to March 2018.
Results: One hundred and eighteen patients (mean age, 52.2± 16.4 years; Of these 65(55.1%) were males. Majority, 98(83.1%) of the patients were symptomatic including 6(5.1%) with functional tumours. Pancreas was the most frequent primary site noted in 33(28%) patients. The most common histologic type was well differentiated neuroendocrine …

Use Of Platelet-Rich Plasma In Treating Low Back Pain: A Review Of The Current Literature, Mirza Zain Baig, Umme E Hani Abdullah, Aun Muhammad, Abeer Aziz, Maryam Jamil Syed, Aneela Darbar

Medical College Documents

Low back pain (LBP) is a common problem encountered by physicians. It is a considerable cause of morbidity and socioeconomic loss and is one of the most expensive musculoskeletal disorders. Conventional treatments include bed rest, analgesics, therapeutic exercises, lumbar or caudal epidural corticosteroids, and surgery. Several new biological therapies are being investigated for use in LBP and one of these is platelet-rich plasma (PRP). In this article, we summarize the current literature published on PRP concerning its composition, classification, and application in LBP. We believe our review will prove useful to clinicians and academics alike, interested in new developing therapies …

The Mechanism Of Β-N-Methylamino-L-Alanine Inhibition Of Trna Aminoacylation And Its Impact On Misincorporation, Nien-Ching Han, Tammy J. Bullwinkle, Kaeli F. Loeb, Kym F. Faull, Kyle Mohler, Jesse Rinehart, Michael Ibba

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

β-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA) is a nonproteinogenic amino acid that has been associated with neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). BMAA has been found in human protein extracts; however, the mechanism by which it enters the proteome is still unclear. It has been suggested that BMAA is misincorporated at serine codons during protein synthesis, but direct evidence of its cotranslational incorporation is currently lacking. Here, using LC-MS–purified BMAA and several biochemical assays, we sought to determine whether any aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS) utilizes BMAA as a substrate for aminoacylation. Despite BMAA's previously predicted misincorporation at serine …