This work examines whether microglia-conditioned medium (MCM) is beneficial in stressed spinal cord cells or tissues. MCM was separated into two fractions by 50 kDa molecular cut-off centrifugation. MCM not only promoted survival of neuronal and oligodendroglial cells but effectively reduced LPS stimulation in spinal cord cultures. We further utilized the NYU weight-drop device to induce contus...

abstract   objective: to evaluate and review our experience with pediatric spinal injuries and factors affecting outcome, the authors conducted a retrospective clinical study of 43 cases (32 boys, 11 girls) of pediatric spine injuries treated during four years (january 1999 to december 2003).   methods: forty-three children with spinal injuries were studied retrospectively over four years and w...

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of neurotrophin-secreting Schwann cell implants on the urinary bladder after spinal cord contusion. One hour after severe spinal cord contusion at the T8 to T11 level, carbon filaments containing nonsecreting Schwann cells, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-secreting Schwann cells, neurotrophin-3 (NT-3)-secreting Schwann cells, or S...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) disrupts both axonal pathways and segmental spinal cord circuity, resulting in permanent neurological deficits. Physical exercise is known to increase the expression of neurotrophins for improving the injured spinal cord. In the present study, we investigated the effects of treadmill exercise on locomotor function in relation with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF...

Background: Brown-Sequard syndrome (BSS) is a rare neurological condition resulting from a hemisection injury to or unilateral compression on the spinal cord. The most common causes of BSS that are amenable to be treated surgically can be divided into traumatic and non-traumatic injuries. Traumatic injuries are often reported as the main cause of BSS. However, non-traumatic injuries of the spin...

DIFFUSION TENSOR IMAGING OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM FOLLOWING AN INJURY TO THE SPINAL CORD AND CELL TRANSPLANT Michael B. Jirjis, B.S. Marquette University, 2013 The purpose of this dissertation research was to characterize the use of magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in understanding the changes that occur throughout the spinal cord and br...

Back ground  Subsequent to spinal cord injury many pathological changes may occur that could lead to inappropriate environment for repair. The Most important of such changes is the death of neurons. Exogenous administration of growth factors that modulate neuronal survival, synaptic plasticity, and neurotransmission has been proposed as a potential therapeutic treatment for SCI. Among these gr...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) triggers a multitude of pathophysiological events that are tightly regulated by the expression levels of specific genes. Recent studies suggest that changes in gene expression following neural injury can result from the dysregulation of microRNAs, short non-coding RNA molecules that repress the translation of target mRNA. To understand the mechanisms underlying gene alt...

A variety of tests of sensorimotor function are used to characterize outcome after experimental spinal cord injury (SCI). These tests typically do not provide information about chemical and metabolic processes in the injured CNS. Here, we used (1) H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to monitor long-term and short-term chemical changes in the CNS in vivo following SCI. The investigated areas...

Impaired respiratory function is a common and devastating consequence of cervical spinal cord injury. Accordingly, the development safe effective treatments to restore breathing critical. Acute intermittent hypoxia has emerged as promising therapeutic strategy treat insufficiency in individuals with Since original report by Bach Mitchell (1996) concerning long-term facilitation phrenic motor ou...