Our laboratory has shown that λ-carrageenan-induced peripheral inflammatory pain (CIP) can alter tight junction (TJ) protein expression and/or assembly leading to changes in blood-brain barrier xenobiotic permeability. However, the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent oxidative stress during CIP is unknown. ROS (i.e., superoxide) are known to cause cellular damage in response to...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Use of thrombolysis in stroke is limited by a short therapeutic window because delayed reperfusion may cause brain hemorrhage and edema. Available evidence suggests a role for superoxide, NO, and peroxynitrite in reperfusion-induced injury. However, depending on their cellular origin and interactions between them, these molecules may exert protective or deleterious action...

The endothelial cells in brain capillaries are the anatomic site of the blood-brain barrier. To learn more about the biology of these specialized cells, we developed methods to prepare suspensions of purified brain microvessels as well as primary cultures of endothelial cells in monolayer. These two preparations allow for direct investigation of the metabolism, transport properties, and recepto...

BACKGROUND Juvenile hemangiomas are common, benign tumors, distinctive for their perinatal presentation, rapid growth during the first year of life, and subsequent involution. We recently reported that endothelia of hemangiomas highly express GLUT1, a glucose transporter normally restricted to endothelia with blood-tissue barrier function, as in brain and placenta. OBJECTIVE To investigate po...

Electrical stimulation of the cerebellar fastigial nucleus (FN) in rat protects the brain against ischemia. We studied whether FN could reduce the cerebrovascular inflammation as a mechanism of protection. FN or dentate nucleus (sham controls) was electrically stimulated for 1 h, and 72 h later rats were either injected with interleukin (IL)-1β into the striata or processed to analyze inflammat...

BACKGROUND Optimal vascular function is vital for prevention of dementia. We hypothesized that elderly post-stroke survivors who preserve cognitive function show unperturbed cerebral microvasculature compared with those who develop dementia. METHODS Using stereological spherical probe software, we compared the length density (Lv, cumulative vessel length per unit tissue volume) of hippocampal...