INTRODUCTION: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the largest cause of death and disability in young adults in the Western world [1]. The pathophysiology that follows a TBI leads to expansion of the initial lesion and symptoms such as cognitive and motor dysfunction. Astrogliosis has a main role in this pathophysiology. In vivo studies show that mechanically induced TBI triggers astrogliosis, with ...

Preclinical studies suggest that insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) plays an important role in oligodendrocyte survival and myelination. We used human recombinant [125I]IGF-I to study IGF-I receptors in post-mortem brain tissue from patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In normal appearing white matter, we found that IGF-I receptor densities and binding characteristics were not different bet...

Astrocytes are increasingly being recognized as dynamic participants in many aspects of normal central nervous system function. In disease states, reactive astrocytes undergo complex phenotypic changes, generically referred to as astrogliosis. Unraveling the functions of reactive astrocytes and underlying molecular mechanisms is a difficult problem. The use of genetically modified mice is begin...

Astrogliosis following hypoxia/ischemia (HI)-related brain injury plays a role in increased morbidity and mortality in neonates. Recent clinical studies indicate that the severity of brain injury appear to be sex dependent, and that the male neonates are more susceptible to the effects of HI-related brain injury, resulting in more severe neurological outcomes as compared to females with compara...

Recent evidences suggest key roles of abnormal neurogenesis and astrogliosis in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. Alterations in the microenvironment of the stem cell, such as microglial activation and cyclooxygenase-2 induction may cause ectopic neurogenesis or astrogliosis. Here, we examined if inflammatory blockade with celecoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, could modulate the altere...

A correlation of clinical, MRI, and neuropathological data is reported in two patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA). On MRI, patient 1 showed striatal atrophy, reduction of T2 relaxation times within most of the putamen, and a band of hyperintense signal changes in the lateral putamen. In patient 2, MRI disclosed only shortening of the T2 signal in the putamen. Immunohistochemistry showed...

Reactive astrogliosis is an essential and ubiquitous response to CNS injury, but in some cases, aberrant activation of astrocytes and their release of inhibitory signaling molecules can impair endogenous neural repair processes. Our lab previously identified a secreted intercellular signaling molecule, called endothelin-1 (ET-1), which is expressed at high levels by reactive astrocytes in multi...

Gaucher disease (GD), the most common lysosomal storage disorder, is caused by a deficiency in the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GlcCerase), which results in intracellular accumulation of glucosylceramide (GlcCer). The rare neuronopathic forms of GD are characterized by profound neurological impairment and neuronal cell death, but little is known about the neuropathological changes that ...