Neurosciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus On The Severity Of Alzheimer's Disease In Hispanic Populations In The Rio Grande Valley: A Pilot Retrospective Chart Review, Maria Camila Gonzalez Tovar, Daniel Salinas, Kelsey Baker

School of Medicine Publications

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is becoming more prevalent worldwide, leading to a growing demand to understand the impact of risk factors on disease progression. Notably, type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) has emerged as a significant risk factor for the development of AD, given the pathophysiological role of insulin resistance in cognitive impairment. In particular, the impact of type 2 DM on AD development and severity may be heightened in Hispanic populations due to the high prevalence of both conditions in this community. Here, we sought to understand the role of type 2 DM in AD severity in a Hispanic population …

Loss Of Neuropeptide F (Npf) Signaling Reduces The Strength Of Circadian Rest-Activity Rhythms But Not Feeding-Fasting Rhythms, Katelyn Ann Wendt

Master's Theses

The circadian system governs crucial physiological and behavioral processes, dictating activities like movement, hormone release, and sleep patterns over a 24-hour cycle. Disruptions to these rhythms can lead to various health problems, including cardiometabolic dysfunction. Research has demonstrated the presence of circadian rhythms of feeding behavior in diverse organisms, but the specific molecules involved are not yet identified. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) influences metabolic activity in mammals, and its counterpart, NPF, affects locomotor activity and feeding in Drosophila melanogaster. Our study aims to investigate whether NPF, its receptor (NPFR), and NPF-expressing cells play a role in regulating circadian rest-activity and feeding-fasting …

Mechanisms Underlying Estrous Cycle-Dependent Changes In Incubated Cocaine Craving, Erin Elizabeth Wannen

Theses and Dissertations

Cues associated with cocaine use are one of the most common relapse triggers and understanding what promotes cue-induced cocaine craving and relapse is a critical question in the field. Human studies have shown that these measures are impacted by fluctuations in ovarian hormone levels, as higher levels of estradiol promote cue-induced cocaine craving in women while higher levels of progesterone reduce craving in both sexes. Enhanced or incubated cue-induced cocaine seeking or craving also changes across the rodent reproductive (estrous) cycle as levels of estradiol and progesterone fluctuate, with enhanced seeking behavior observed during the estrus stage of the cycle. …

Simple And Complex Phonic Tics In Tourette Syndrome, José Fidel Baizabal-Carvallo, Joseph Jankovic

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Tourette syndrome (TS) is the most common cause of tics. Tics are classified as motor and phonic tics. The latter (previously also referred to as “vocal tics”) are manifested by simple sounds (simple phonic tics) or complex, often semantically meaningful utterances (complex phonic tics). Methods: We compared the clinical and demographic features of consecutive patients with TS who exhibited simple and complex phonic tics. Results: There were 149 patients, 117 (78.5%) of whom were males; the mean age at evaluation was 19.61 ± 12.97 years. In total, 35 (23.5%) of these manifested complex phonic tics, and 26 (17.4%) had verbalizations. …

The Effect Of Birthweight And Gestational Age On Cognitive Function In Midlife: The Bogalusa Heart Study, Eunsun Gill, David J Libon, Soo Jung Kang, Ileana De Anda-Duran, Lydia A Bazzano, Wei Chen, Camilo Fernandez-Alonso, Emily W Harville

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Although the relationships between birthweight, gestational age (GA), and cognitive function (CF) before midlife have been demonstrated, the relationships after midlife and potential racial disparities remain inconclusive. This study examined the association between birthweight, GA, and midlife CF stratified by race.

METHOD: 1,032 subjects from the Bogalusa Heart Study (67% Whites, 33% Blacks, mean age 48.1 ± 5.3 years) were studied. Cognition was assessed with tests measuring verbal episodic memory, working memory, attention, graphomotor information processing speed, and global CF. Each test was standardized by sex and age, then averaged. The global CF was computed by averaging all cognitive …

Iron Deficiency Without Anemia And Reduced Basal Ganglia Iron Content In Youths, Dimitri Fiani, Joo-Won Kim, Mianzhi Hu, Ramiro Salas, Sarah Heilbronner, Jacquelyn Powers, Muhammad Haque, Stephanie Dinh, Xiaofan Huang, Darrell Worthy, Sridevi Devaraj, Junqian Xu, Chadi Calarge

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Importance: Although brain iron is necessary for neurogenesis, myelination, and neurotransmitter synthesis, iron deficiency (ID) is defined solely based on hematological outcomes.

Objective: To examine the association of ID without anemia with basal ganglia (BG) iron content and its structural and functional sequelae in adolescents.

Design, setting, and participants: This cross-sectional study enrolled participants using the electronic medical record system from a large network of pediatrics clinics between December 2020 and April 2024. Otherwise healthy, unmedicated participants aged 10 to 17 years with a depressive or anxiety disorder or with no psychopathology were consecutively enrolled. Anemia and acute inflammation led …

Glutamatergic Regulation Of Mirna-Containing Intraluminal Vesicle Trafficking And Extracellular Vesicle Secretion From Cortical Neurons, Marcela Bertolio, Qiyi Li, Francesca E Mowry, Kathryn E Reynolds, Rashed Alananzeh, Haichao Wei, Kyoeun Keum, Rachel Jarvis, Jiaqian Wu, Yongjie Yang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Neuronal extracellular vesicles (microvesicles and exosomes) are emerging secreted vesicular signals that play important roles in the CNS. Currently, little is known about how glutamatergic signalling affects the subcellular localisation of exosome precursor intraluminal vesicles (ILVs), microRNA (miR) packaging into ILVs and in vivo spreading of neuronal EVs. By selectively labelling ILVs and exosomes (but not plasma membrane-derived MVs) with GFP-tagged human CD63 (hCD63-GFP) in cortical neurons, we found that glutamate stimulation significantly redistributes subcellular localisation of hCD63-GFP+ ILVs, especially decreasing its co-localisation with multi-vesicular body (MVB) marker Rab7 while substantially promoting EV secretion. Interestingly, glutamate stimulation only modestly alters …

Measuring And Interpreting Individual Differences In Fetal, Infant, And Toddler Neurodevelopment, Halie A Olson, M Catalina Camacho, Gavkhar Abdurokhmonova, Sahar Ahmad, Emily M Chen, Haerin Chung, Renata Di Lorenzo, Áine T Dineen, Melanie Ganz, Roxane Licandro, Caroline Magnain, Natasha Marrus, Sarah A Mccormick, Tara M Rutter, Lauren Wagner, Kali Woodruff Carr, Lilla Zöllei, Kelly A Vaughn, Kathrine Skak Madsen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

As scientists interested in fetal, infant, and toddler (FIT) neurodevelopment, our research questions often focus on how individual children differ in their neurodevelopment and the predictive value of those individual differences for long-term neural and behavioral outcomes. Measuring and interpreting individual differences in neurodevelopment can present challenges: Is there a "standard" way for the human brain to develop? How do the semantic, practical, or theoretical constraints that we place on studying "development" influence how we measure and interpret individual differences? While it is important to consider these questions across the lifespan, they are particularly relevant for conducting and interpreting research …

Enhancing Seizure Control In Ultra-Refractory Postencephalitic Epilepsies Using Multinodal Network Neuromodulation, Subhiksha Srinivasan, Surya Suresh, Ganne Chaitanya, Manoj Saranathan, Nitin Tandon, Sandipan Pati

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This case series reports the formidable challenge posed by postencephalitic epilepsies, characterized by frequent drug-resistant seizures and neuropsychiatric and cognitive comorbidities. Polypharmacy is frequently required, and surgical resection may not be feasible due to multifocality. Neuromodulation therapies, including Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and Responsive Neurostimulation (RNS), offer a potential lifeline. In this case series, we shed light on the intricate landscape of seizure management and neuropsychiatric comorbidities in five individuals with frequent seizures (often weekly) and ultra-refractory epilepsy (defined as resistance to more than six different antiseizure medications, including failed epilepsy surgery) following catastrophic encephalitis. Four out of five patients …

Acute Dentate Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation Modulates Corticomotor Excitability In Chronic Stroke Survivors, Xin Li, Kenneth B. Baker, Kyle O'Laughlin, Yin-Liang Lin, Kelsey Baker, Robert Chen, Jacqueline Chen, Andre G. Machado, Ela B. Plow

School of Medicine Publications

Background

Deep brain stimulation of the dentate nucleus (DN-DBS) is an emerging therapy to improve upper extremity (UE) motor function after stroke. This study sought to investigate the physiologic mechanisms of acuteDN-DBS in chronic stroke survivors enrolled in a phase I trial for DN-DBS.

Methods

Twelve chronic stroke participants with moderate-to-severe UE impairment received (acute) single sessions (≥45 min) of active DBS and sham DBS in a sham-controlled, double-blind, cross-over experiment (order randomized). Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to evaluate corticomotor physiology. We also characterized the relationship between acute DBS effects on physiology and baseline clinical …

Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists In Neurodegenerative Diseases: Promises And Challenges, Zhi Dong Zhou, Lingxiao Yi, Karolina Popławska-Domaszewicz, Kallol Ray Chaudhuri, Joseph Jankovic, Eng King Tan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (GRA) belong to a class of compounds that reduce blood glucose and energy intake by simulating actions of endogenous incretin hormone GLP-1 after it is released by the gut following food consumption. They are used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity and have systemic effects on various organs, including the brain, liver, pancreas, heart, and the gut. Patients with T2DM have a higher risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Huntington's disease (HD), accompanied by more severe motor deficits and faster …

Impact Of Length Of Stay On Diagnostic Yield In The Epilepsy Monitoring Unit: A Multi-Center Retrospective 12-Year Veterans Health Administration Study, Maximillian S Feygin, Autumn Smith, Sruthi Gopinath Karicheri, Khadar Haroun, Omar Khan, Maria R Lopez, Stephan Eisenschenk, John Jones, Stephanie Reeder, Alan R Towne, Christopher Ransom, Karen Medin, James Chen, Tung Tran, Nina I Garga, Noemi Rincon-Flores, Marissa Kellogg, Steven Tobochnik, Zulfi Haneef

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: Epilepsy Monitoring Units (EMUs) in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Epilepsy Centers of Excellence (ECoE) are critical for the diagnosis and management of seizure disorders. Whether a shorter length of stay (LOS) in the EMU due to scheduling impacts diagnostic yield is unclear.

Methods: Data from 7074 EMU visits across 15 VHA EMUs (2012-2024) were analyzed. Based on usual admission schedules, EMUs were divided into "fixed" (typically Monday-Friday) or "flexible" subgroups. Diagnostic outcomes were classified as epileptic seizures (ES), psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES), other non-epileptic events, and inconclusive. Diagnostic rates were compared between fixed and flexible sites using cumulative distribution …

Baseline Characteristics Of The Us Study To Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention To Reduce Risk (Us Pointer): Successful Enrollment Of A Diverse Clinical Trial Cohort At Risk For Cognitive Decline, Rachel A Whitmer, Laura D Baker, Maria C Carrillo, Heather M Snyder, Maryjo L Cleveland, Darren R Gitelman, Miia Kivipelto, Xiaoyan I Leng, Laura Lovato, Kathryn V Papp, Valory N Pavlik, Stephen P Salloway, Christy C Tangney, Sarah Tomaszewski Farias, Jeff D Williamson, Sharon Wilmoth, Nancy Woolard, Melissa Yu, Mark Andrew Espeland, U.S. Pointer Study Group

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: The U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk (U.S. POINTER) is a 2-year randomized controlled trial of two lifestyle interventions in 2111 older adults at increased risk for cognitive decline.

Methods: Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and rates of ancillary study participation were described with means and frequencies.

Results: U.S. POINTER successfully enrolled a cohort, ages 60-79 years, which was ethno-racially inclusive (>30% individuals from groups often under-represented in clinical trials with cognitive outcomes) and 18% residing in neighborhoods with moderate or high levels of socioeconomic deprivation. Enrollees were cognitively intact but at increased …

Recreational Outdoor Injury And Mortality In Texas State Parks Between 2012 And 2021, Mohammad I Hirzallah, Ebubechi K Adindu, Julliet C Ogu, Tania Allison, May Kamleh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction

Methods

The Metastatic Role Of The Cxcl10-Cxcr3 Axis And Its Therapeutic Potential In Osteosarcoma, Benjamin B Gyau, Junyan Wang, Xiang Chen, Margaret A Clement, Zoe D Man, Angela M Major, Mathew C Weiser, Jun Xu, John Hicks, Tsz-Kwong Man

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The CXCL10-CXCR3 axis regulates immunity, tumorigenesis, and metastasis in multiple cancers. Yet, its roles in osteosarcoma (OS), the predominant pediatric malignant bone tumor, are not fully defined. Our prior work has shown that elevated serum CXCL10 levels correlate with poor OS prognosis. The current study delves deeper by investigating how CXCL10-mediated CXCR3 signaling influences OS growth and metastatic spread. In vitro, CXCL10 and related CXCR3 ligands (CXCL4, CXCL9, and CXCL11) enhanced OS tumor cell migration. In an orthotopic xenograft mouse model with a newly created CXCR3 knockout (KO) mutant, tumor growth and lung metastasis decreased significantly when compared with …

Author Correction: Inhibitory Specificity From A Connectomic Census Of Mouse Visual Cortex, Casey M Schneider-Mizell, Agnes L Bodor, Derrick Brittain, Joann Buchanan, Daniel J Bumbarger, Leila Elabbady, Clare Gamlin, Daniel Kapner, Sam Kinn, Gayathri Mahalingam, Sharmishtaa Seshamani, Shelby Suckow, Marc Takeno, Russel Torres, Wenjing Yin, Sven Dorkenwald, J Alexander Bae, Manuel A Castro, Akhilesh Halageri, Zhen Jia, Chris Jordan, Nico Kemnitz, Kisuk Lee, Kai Li, Ran Lu, Thomas Macrina, Eric Mitchell, Shanka Subhra Mondal, Shang Mu, Barak Nehoran, Sergiy Popovych, William Silversmith, Nicholas L Turner, William Wong, Jingpeng Wu, Jacob Reimer, Andreas S Tolias, H Sebastian Seung, R Clay Reid, Forrest Collman, Nuno Maçarico Da Costa

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Middle Meningeal Artery Embolization As A Perioperative Adjunct To Surgical Evacuation Of Nonacute Subdural Hematomas: An Multicenter Analysis Of Safety And Efficacy, Walid K Salah, Cordell Baker, Jonathan P Scoville, Joshua C Hunsaker, Christopher S Ogilvy, Justin M Moore, Howard A Riina, Elad I Levy, Alejandro M Spiotta, Brian T Jankowitz, C Michael Cawley, Alexander A Khalessi, Omar Tanweer, Ricardo Hanel, Bradley A Gross, Okkes Kuybu, Alex Nguyen Hoang, Ammad A Baig, Mir Hojjat Khorasanizadeh, Aldo A Mendez, Gustavo Cortez, Jason M Davies, Sandra Narayanan, Brian M Howard, Michael J Lang, Adnan H Siddiqui, Ajith Thomas, Peter Kan, Jan-Karl Burkhardt, Mohamed M Salem, Ramesh Grandhi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background

By 2030, nonacute subdural hematomas (NASHs) will likely be the most common cranial neurosurgery pathology. Treatment with surgical evacuation may be necessary, but the recurrence rate after surgery is as high as 30%. Minimally invasive middle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) during the perioperative period has been posited as an adjunctive treatment to decrease the potential for recurrence after surgical evacuation. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of concurrent MMAE in a multi-institutional cohort.

Methods

Data from 145 patients (median age 73 years) with NASH who underwent surgical evacuation and MMAE in the perioperative period were retrospectively collected from 15 …

Nf2 Loss-Of-Function And Hypoxia Drive Radiation Resistance In Grade 2 Meningiomas, Bhuvic Patel, Sangami Pugazenthi, Collin W English, Vijay Nitturi, Shree S Pari, Tatenda Mahlokozera, William A Leidig, Hsiang-Chih Lu, Alicia Yang, Kaleigh Roberts, Patrick Desouza, Kyle P Mcgeehan, Diane D Mao, Namita Sinha, Joseph E Ippolito, Sonika Dahiya, Allegra Petti, Hiroko Yano, Tiemo J Klisch, Akdes S Harmanci, Akash J Patel, Albert H Kim

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: World Health Organization Grade 2 meningiomas (G2Ms) often recur and resist therapies. Grade 2 meningiomas with histopathological necrosis have been associated with worse local control (LC) after radiation therapy, but the drivers and biomarkers of radiation resistance in G2Ms remain unknown.

Methods: We performed genetic sequencing and histopathological analysis of 113 G2Ms and investigated the role of genetic and microenvironmental factors on clonogenic survival after ionizing radiation. We performed transcriptional profiling of our in vitro model and 18 human G2M tumors by bulk RNA sequencing as well as 8 G2Ms by single nuclei RNA sequencing.

Results: NF2 loss-of-function (LOF) …

Longitudinal Associations Between Self-Reported Exercise Levels And Cognition In Adad, Kelsey R. Sewell, James D. Doecke, Ralph N. Martins, Stephanie R. Rainey-Smith, Jeremiah Peiffer, Samantha L. Gardener, Hamid R. Sohrabi, Kirk I. Erickson, Belinda M. Brown

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: This study examined longitudinal associations between self-reported exercise and cognition, with moderation by sex, in individuals with autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease (ADAD) mutations. We also examined whether changes in exercise over time differed in ADAD mutation carriers versus non-carriers in the years preceding first cognitive symptom onset. Methods: Participants (n = 491) were ADAD mutation carriers (63%) and non-carriers (37%) from the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network aged 37.6 ± 11.1 years. Participants reported their average time partaking in various leisure-time exercise activities over the past 12 months. Results: Greater baseline exercise predicted better longitudinal cognitive performance. Sex did not …

Baseline Habitual Dietary Nitrate Intake And Alzheimer's Disease Related Neuroimaging Biomarkers In The Australian Imaging, Biomarkers And Lifestyle Study Of Ageing, Anjana Rajendra, Nicola P. Bondonno, Kevin Murray, Liezhou Zhong, Stephanie R. Rainey-Smith, Samantha L. Gardener, Lauren C. Blekkenhorst, Vincent Doré, Victor L. Villemagne, Simon M. Laws, Belinda M. Brown, Kevin Taddei, Colin L. Masters, Christopher C. Rowe, Ralph N. Martins, Jonathan M. Hodgson, Catherine P. Bondonno

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Dietary nitrate, as a nitric oxide (NO) precursor, may support brain health and protect against dementia. Objective: Our primary aim was to investigate whether dietary nitrate is associated with neuroimaging markers of brain health linked with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Participants: Study participants were cognitively unimpaired individuals from the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle Study of Ageing (AIBL) who had β-amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) scans (n = 554) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans (n = 335) and had completed a Food Frequency Questionnaire at baseline. Methods: Source-specific nitrate intakes were estimated using comprehensive nitrate food composition databases. Rates …