Article
Neurosciences
Camila Marques Freria, Lori Graham, Ali Azimi, Paul Lu
Summary: We propose an updated model of moderately severe bilateral cervical level 6 contusive spinal cord injury (SCI) in the rat, which is more clinically relevant than previous models and allows animals to survive the lesion. This model closely mimics the most common cervical level of SCI in humans and provides a superior tool for assessing motor recovery interventions.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Jacob Kjell, Mikael Svensson
Summary: Peripheral nerves have the ability to promote axon growth and regeneration, making them a potential repair strategy for spinal cord injuries. However, there is still limited understanding of the formation of new circuitries and functional outcomes associated with the use of peripheral nerve grafts.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ajay Pal, HongGeun Park, Aditya Ramamurthy, Ahmet S. Asan, Thelma Bethea, Meenu Johnkutty, Jason B. Carmel
Summary: In this study, the researchers developed a plasticity protocol in rats that aims to activate both sensory and motor connections in the spinal cord. They found that repeated application of this protocol in rats with spinal cord injury improved their forelimb dexterity and reduced hyperreflexia. This study shows the importance of targeting the sensory and motor systems in the spinal cord for promoting recovery after spinal cord injury.
Article
Pediatrics
Suresh Gowda, Prathap Chandra, Deepa Mohan Sharma, Laxmi Kamath, V Mamatha
Summary: Perinatal spinal cord injury is a relatively uncommon but frequently misdiagnosed disorder. Improvements in obstetric care have decreased the incidence of birth-related spinal cord trauma, but the occurrence of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy remains high. The exact incidence of spinal cord trauma is difficult to determine due to the lack of routine examination in neonatal autopsies conducted in India.
INDIAN JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Benita Jin, Monzurul Alam, Alexa Tierno, Hui Zhong, Roland R. Roy, Yury Gerasimenko, Daniel C. Lu, V. Reggie Edgerton
Summary: Serotonergic agents, specifically buspirone and fluoxetine, have shown to improve forelimb motor function recovery after spinal cord injury in adult female rats. Buspirone treatment led to rapid improvement in reaching and grasping success rates, while fluoxetine treatment resulted in a more progressive improvement in forelimb performance over time. However, both treatments did not significantly improve quadrupedal locomotion.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jeonghoon Oh, Alexander G. Steele, Blesson Varghese, Catherine A. Martin, Michelle S. Scheffler, Rachel L. Markley, Yi-Kai Lo, Dimitry G. Sayenko
Summary: Transcutaneous spinal stimulation is a promising method for restoring upper limb function in patients with spinal cord injuries. By selectively stimulating different electrode placements, specific groups of upper limb muscles can be activated. This approach may enhance efficacy and help patients recover more diverse motor activities.
Article
Anesthesiology
Courtney A. Bannerman, Katya Douchant, Julia P. Segal, Mitra Knezic, Alexandra E. Mack, Caitlin Lundell-Creagh, Jaqueline R. Silva, Scott Duggan, Prameet Sheth, Nader Ghasemlou
Summary: Chronic pain is a common complication of spinal cord injury. This study developed a mouse model of spinal cord injury and observed the pain phenotype and related pathology after injury. The study also investigated the changes in the gastrointestinal microbiome.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Connor A. Wathen, Yohannes G. Ghenbot, Ali K. Ozturk, D. Kacy Cullen, John C. O'Donnell, Dmitriy Petrov
Summary: Large animal models, particularly porcine models, of spinal cord injury are valuable for translational research and evaluation of potential therapies. The anatomical and physiological similarities to humans allow for more representative models and accurate assessment of novel treatments, including biologics. Porcine models also facilitate the collection of physiological data in a clinical-like setting. This review provides an overview of porcine spinal cord injury research, including available models and outcome measures, as well as the strengths, limitations, and alternatives.
Article
Neurosciences
Menghon Cheah, Yuyan Cheng, Veselina Petrova, Anda Cimpean, Pavla Jendelova, Vivek Swarup, Clifford J. Woolf, Daniel H. Geschwind, James W. Fawcett
Summary: Sensory dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in the peripheral branch regenerate readily after injury, but not in the central branch. However, expression of a9 integrin and its activator kindlin-1 (a9k1) enables axons to interact with tenascin-C, promoting extensive regeneration and reconnection of sensory axons in the spinal cord. Transcriptomic analyses of adult male rat DRG neurons revealed that a9k1 expression upregulates a known peripheral nerve regeneration program. Coupling a9k1 treatment with dorsal root axotomy leads to extensive central axonal regeneration, accompanied by the expression of a distinctive CNS regeneration program involving genes associated with ubiquitination, autophagy, ER, trafficking, and signaling. Pharmacological inhibition of these processes blocks axon regeneration, validating their causal contributions to sensory regeneration.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Orthopedics
Peng Peng, Hao Yu, Yongjin Li, Jingyuan Huang, Shengyu Yao, Cong Xing, Weixiao Liu, Bin Zhang, Shiqing Feng
Summary: SCI is a severe disease with high mortality and morbidity globally, lacking effective therapeutic interventions. Recent studies have shown that circRNAs play a crucial role in neural tissues and are closely related to the pathophysiology of SCI.
JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC TRANSLATION
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Kun-Ze Lee
Summary: The study investigated the physiological and transcriptomic mechanisms of distinct diaphragm areas following mid-cervical spinal cord injury. The results showed that the injury had different impacts on the physiological responses and gene expression in different diaphragm areas. These findings have important clinical implications for future therapeutic strategies and the placement of diaphragmatic pacing electrodes.
Article
Critical Care Medicine
Kun-Ze Lee, Li-Min Liou, Stephane Vinit
Summary: Cervical magnetic stimulation can be used to assess post-injury excitability of phrenic motor outputs, with shorter latency and increased amplitude observed in response to acute injury. Placing the stimulation more laterally at the left spinal cord in subchronic and chronic injury stages generally leads to larger motor-evoked potentials of the diaphragm.
JOURNAL OF NEUROTRAUMA
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Jaclyn R. Wecht, William M. Savage, Grace O. Famodimu, Gregory A. Mendez, Jonah M. Levine, Matthew T. Maher, Joseph P. Weir, Jill M. Wecht, Jason B. Carmel, Yu-Kuang Wu, Noam Y. Harel
Summary: The study found that subthreshold TSCS can facilitate hand muscle responses to motor cortex stimulation, especially when the TSCS arrives simultaneously or slightly after the cortical stimulation, indicating the potential for enhanced synaptic plasticity in circuits serving hand function.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Review
Engineering, Manufacturing
Juqing Song, Baiheng Lv, Wencong Chen, Peng Ding, Yong He
Summary: Due to the complex nerve anatomy and limited regeneration ability of natural tissue, current treatment for long-distance peripheral nerve regeneration and spinal cord injury repair is unsatisfactory. Tissue engineering, using scaffold materials and seed cells, has emerged as a promising method to regenerate peripheral nerve and spinal cord with structures and functions similar to natural tissues. The rapid development of 3D printing technology has allowed researchers to create novel 3D constructs to achieve high bionics, and this review discusses the application of 3D printing technology in peripheral nerve regeneration and spinal cord repair.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXTREME MANUFACTURING
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ben Kaplan, Shulamit Levenberg
Summary: Peripheral nerve and spinal cord injuries have significant impacts on patients' lives, with severe cases currently lacking a cure. Biomaterials can be engineered as scaffolds to mimic nerve tissue and promote axonal regeneration, as well as deliver therapeutic agents to the site of injury.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Wenzhu Wang, Zihan Li, Yitong Yan, Shuo Wu, Xinyu Yao, Chen Gao, Lanxiang Liu, Yan Yu
Summary: This study investigated the reparative mechanisms of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and found that LIPUS promotes hippocampal neurogenesis, enhances neural electrical activity and neural plasticity, ultimately restoring neuronal function and cognitive capabilities in TBI mice.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Wenmin Yi, Fei Chen, Minghao Yuan, Chuanling Wang, Shengyuan Wang, Jie Wen, Qian Zou, Yinshuang Pu, Zhiyou Cai
Summary: The study suggests that a high-fat diet may lead to tau hyperphosphorylation and synaptic dysfunction by inhibiting the SIRT1/AMPK pathway and disrupting autophagy flux, ultimately resulting in cognitive decline.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Kim M. Hemsley, Helen Beard, Glyn Chidlow, Teresa Mammone, Leanne K. Winner, Daniel Neumann, Barbara King, Marten F. Snel, Paul J. Trim, Robert J. Casson
Summary: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive method that can be used to rapidly and quantitatively examine the integrity of the neuroretina. It has been shown that OCT can be used to observe retinal thinning in patients with childhood dementia, and to assess the improvement of retinal structure after treatment. Furthermore, OCT can provide insights into other childhood dementias based on the correlation between retinal and brain degeneration in Sanfilippo syndrome.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Qianling Jiang, Xin Ma, Gaochen Zhu, Wen Si, Lingyu He, Guan Yang
Summary: This study investigated the effects of EAE induction on thymopoiesis and T cell development, revealing changes such as increased apoptosis, decreased proliferation, and a blockade in the transition from double-negative thymocytes to double-positive cells. It was also found that positive selection was disrupted in the thymus of EAE mice, along with an increased production of regulatory T cells.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Alice McDouall, Guido Wassink, Sumudu Ranasinghe, Kelly Q. Zhou, Rashika N. Karunasinghe, Justin M. Dean, Joanne O. Davidson
Summary: This study found that blocking connexin 43 hemichannels can attenuate brain injury and promote neurodevelopment in infants with mild hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, without causing hypothermia.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Hannah Sweetman, Mahmudur Rahman, Aditya Vedantam, Kajana Satkunendrarajah
Summary: Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is a neurological condition characterized by chronic compression of the cervical spinal cord, leading to impaired limb function. While respiratory dysfunction is not a common symptom of DCM, it can affect the ventilatory response to respiratory challenges. Surgical decompression improves sensorimotor function in DCM, but its impact on respiratory function is unclear. This study evaluates respiratory function and adaptive ventilation in a DCM model, showing that DCM impairs acute adaptive ventilatory ability and surgical decompression does not fully restore it.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Chengmei Sun, Muhammad Saif Ur Rahman, Budbazar Enkhjargal, Jianhua Peng, Keren Zhou, Zhiyi Xie, Lingyun Wu, Tongyu Zhang, Qiquan Zhu, Jiping Tang, Yujia Zeng, John H. Zhang, Shanshan Xu
Summary: This study found that Osteopontin (OPN) can attenuate inflammatory responses after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) by promoting an anti-inflammatory microglial state. This effect may be mediated through the integrin-FAK-STAT3 and NF-kappa B signaling pathways.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Yang Yang, Xuezhu Chen, Chuanyan Yang, Mei Liu, Qianying Huang, Likun Yang, Yuhai Wang, Hua Feng, Zhongyang Gao, Tunan Chen
Summary: The study explores the effects of specific chemogenetic stimulation of intact corticospinal tract on functional recovery after stroke in mice. The findings demonstrate that combining chemogenetic activation with rehabilitation training leads to significant motor functional recovery by promoting axon sprouting and rewiring new functional circuits.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
