Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), defined as patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score ≤ 8, is a well-known cause of life-long disability and death. TBI is commonly observed in young adults although the incidence of elderly people is increasing. TBI has also been identified as an important environmental risk factor for the development of Alzheimer ́s disease (AD) later in life. Amyloid-β...

DIFFUSE TRAUMATIC AXONAL INJURY WITHIN THE VISUAL SYSTEM: IMPLICATIONS FOR VISUAL PATHWAY REORGANIZATION By Jiaqiong Wang, Ph.D. Candidate A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2012 Major Director: John T. Povlishock, Ph.D. Professor and Chairman Department ...

Morphology in diffuse axonal injury (DAI) by lateral head rotation was investigated. SD rats were divided into injury (n=9) and sham (n=3) groups. A device was used to produce lateral rotational acceleration of the rats' heads. At different survival times three rats were killed for light and electron microscopic examination of the brain tissue. Sagittal sections were made from medulla oblongata...

We investigated the therapeutic effect of vitamin D3 in a rat diffuse axonal injury model. A total of 60 male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 175-200 g were anaesthetized and subjected to head trauma using Marmarou's impact-acceleration model. The rats were then separated into two groups; one group was treated with vitamin D3 and the other with saline for up to 4 days after the head trauma. Rats f...