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Topic Review
Helmet Design and Neurotrauma Prevention
Neurotrauma is an important, often preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. Between 180 and 250 traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) occur per 100,000 population per year in the U.S.. Helmets have been employed by humans for thousands of years and have served as a crucial instrument by which we protect ourselves from and minimize the effects of traumatic brain injury. Substantial evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses points toward the protective effectiveness (often >60%) of helmets in preventing TBIs in athletes, cyclists and motorcyclists. However, when stratifying TBI by severity, helmets may be less effective or even ineffective in preventing milder forms of TBI such as concussion. Helmet design has been predicated on linear acceleration as a metric corresponding to head injury. This has served well in preventing catastrophic injuries. However, rotational acceleration is more likely implicated in the pathophysiology of milder brain injuries, including concussion.
  • 1.5K
  • 30 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Astrocytes in Depression and Alzheimer’s Disease
Astrocytes play a key role in the functioning of neurons in norm and pathology, being a target for stress and glucocorticoids, are a promising target for the treatment of stress-dependent depression and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Depression, as a mental disorder, is characterized by two core symptoms, depressed mood and loss of interest or pleasure in nearly all activities, and may be accompanied by other symptoms such as cognitive impairments, sleep disturbance, psychomotor retardation or agitation, feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt.
  • 1.5K
  • 20 May 2022
Topic Review
Treating Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as an injury caused by an external force that results in the disruption of normal brain function. In the United States, between 2016–2017, there were approximately 451,000 cases of TBI that resulted in hospitalization. The most common mechanisms of injury contributing to TBI were unintentional falls and motor vehicle crashes.
  • 1.5K
  • 05 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Microglia as Therapeutic Target for Radiation-Induced Brain Injury
Radiation-induced brain injury (RIBI) after radiotherapy has become an increasingly important factor affecting the prognosis of patients with head and neck tumor. With the delivery of high doses of radiation to brain tissue, microglia rapidly transit to a pro-inflammatory phenotype, upregulate phagocytic machinery, and reduce the release of neurotrophic factors. 
  • 1.5K
  • 12 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Therapeutic Potential of MSC-EVs in Neurodegenerative Disorders
The application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represents a new promising approach for treating neurodegenerative diseases. Growing evidence suggests that the therapeutic effects of MSCs are due to the secretion of neurotrophic molecules through extracellular vesicles. The extracellular vesicles produced by MSCs (MSC-EVs) have valuable innate properties deriving from parental cells and could be exploited as cell-free treatments for many neurological diseases.
  • 1.5K
  • 23 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are an essential pharmacological treatment for patients with unmanageable premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysmorphic disorder (PMDD). SSRIs can be taken either continuously or in the luteal phase to reduce the symptoms of PMS and PMDD. Most SSRIs exhibit equal efficacy for the treatment of PMS and PMDD, so a provider’s choice of SSRI should be based on anticipated side effects and the patient’s response to the drug.
  • 1.5K
  • 23 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Surgical Coaptation Techniques in Peripheral Nerve Injuries
Peripheral nerve injuries requiring surgical repair affect over 100,000 individuals in the US annually. Three accepted methods of peripheral repair include end-to-end, end-to-side, and side-to-side neurorrhaphy, each with its own set of indications.
  • 1.5K
  • 23 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Neurovascular Unit Dysfunction in AD
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide. Histopathologically, AD presents with two hallmarks: neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), and aggregates of amyloid β peptide (Aβ) both in the brain parenchyma as neuritic plaques, and around blood vessels as cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). According to the vascular hypothesis of AD, vascular risk factors can result in dysregulation of the neurovascular unit (NVU) and hypoxia.
  • 1.5K
  • 11 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Microplastics in the Aquatic Environment
Microplastics, or microbeads, are plastic particles < 5 mm diameter, and they include nano-sized particles (1 nm). Their size has been miniaturized or fragmented enough that there might be a need for the use of microscopy techniques to study them. In many cases, microplastics continue to carry the chemical structure of their parent plastic with minimum alterations due to exposure to varied environments.
  • 1.5K
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity can be defined as the ability of the nervous system to modify its structure on the basis of different environmental changes and stimulation.
  • 1.5K
  • 28 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Glial Scar in Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a complex tissue injury resulting in permanent and degenerating damage to the central nervous system (CNS). Detrimental cellular processes occur after SCI, including axonal degeneration, neuronal loss, neuroinflammation, reactive gliosis, and scar formation. The glial scar border forms to segregate the neural lesion and isolate spreading inflammation, reactive oxygen species, and excitotoxicity at the injury epicenter to preserve surrounding healthy tissue. The scar border is a physicochemical barrier composed of elongated astrocytes, fibroblasts, and microglia secreting chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, collogen, and the dense extra-cellular matrix.
  • 1.5K
  • 24 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Extracellular Matrix Regulation in Brain Disease
The extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounds cells in the brain, providing structural and functional support. Emerging studies demonstrate that the ECM plays important roles during development, in the healthy adult brain, and in brain diseases.
  • 1.5K
  • 04 May 2023
Topic Review
Hyaluronic Acid-Based Nanosystems and Inflammation
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring glycosaminoglycan that has a well-known ability to bind with the cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44) receptor on classically activated M1 macrophages. HA-nanosystems can be used for targeted drug delivery to counter inflammation and, subsequently, pain.
  • 1.5K
  • 26 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Ageing, Microglia and Mitochondria in Parkinson’s Disease Neurodegeneration
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is an age-related chronic, progressive, multi-system, neurodegenerative disease with an incidence second only to Alzheimer’s disease. A PD diagnosis requires the presence of two core motor features, including diminished movement (bradykinesia), tremor, muscle rigidity, or postural instability, difficulty initiating voluntary movement (akinesia), involuntary eye movements, and blinking, which can take up to 15-20 years to become evident. There is now an increasing level of evidence linking mitochondrial dysfunction, including elevated oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and impaired cellular energy production, with the overactivation and escalation of a microglial mediated proinflammatory immune response, as naturally occurring and damaging interlinked bidirectional and self-perpetuating cycles that share common pathological processes in aging and PD. This research proposes that both chronic inflammation, microglial activation and neuronal mitochondrial impairment should be considered as concurrently influencing each other along a continuum, rather than as separate and isolated linear metabolic events that affect specific aspects of neural processing and brain function.
  • 1.5K
  • 18 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Molecular Mechanisms of Phenols to Prevent Neurodegeneration
Aging causes changes in brain tissue homeostasis, thus contributing to the development of neurodegenerative disorders. Antioxidant properties of phenolic compounds are of particular interest for neurodegenerative diseases whose psychopathological mechanisms strongly rely on oxidative stress at the brain level. Moreover, phenolic compounds display other advantages such as the permeability of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and the interesting molecular mechanisms.
  • 1.5K
  • 30 Apr 2024
Topic Review
Mimics of Leptomeningeal Disease
Leptomeningeal disease (LMD) is commonly characterized as the metastatic involvement of various meningeal regions—the arachnoid mater, subarachnoid space, and pia mater—defined as the leptomeningeal layer. LMD can stem from non-cancerous pathologies, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or meningitis with subsequent inflammation and infection, respectively. Clinically, the presentation of LMD includes non-specific, generalized neurological symptoms, such as headaches, confusion, seizures, and radiculopathy, among others.
  • 1.5K
  • 24 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Nrf2 Activation in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases are incurable and debilitating conditions that result in progressive degeneration and loss of nerve cells. Oxidative stress has been proposed as one factor that plays a potential role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders since neuron cells are particularly vulnerable to oxidative damage. Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is strictly related to anti-inflammatory and antioxidative cell response; therefore, its activation and the consequent enhancement of the related cellular pathways have been proposed as a potential therapeutic approach.
  • 1.5K
  • 12 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Ferritinophagy and α-Synuclein
A major hallmark of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the fatal destruction of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra pars compacta. This event is preceded by the formation of Lewy bodies, which are cytoplasmic inclusions composed of α-synuclein protein aggregates. A triad contribution of α-synuclein aggregation, iron accumulation, and mitochondrial dysfunction plague nigral neurons, yet the events underlying iron accumulation are poorly understood. Elevated intracellular iron concentrations up-regulate ferritin expression, an iron storage protein that provides cytoprotection against redox stress. The intrinsically disordered synaptic protein, α-synuclein, is the principal component of neuronal Lewy bodies (LB) and Lewy neurites (LN), which are cytoplasmic inclusions that hallmark α-synucleinopathies.
  • 1.5K
  • 11 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Applying CADD for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington’s disease are incurable and affect millions of people worldwide. The development of treatments for this unmet clinical need is a major global research challenge. Computer-aided drug design (CADD) methods minimize the huge number of ligands that could be screened in biological assays, reducing the cost, time, and effort required to develop new drugs. 
  • 1.5K
  • 07 May 2021
Topic Review
Chromatin Profiling Techniques
The genetic architecture of complex traits is multifactorial. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified risk loci for complex traits and diseases that are disproportionately located at the non-coding regions of the genome. On the other hand, we have just begun to understand the regulatory roles of the non-coding genome, making it challenging to precisely interpret the functions of non-coding variants associated with complex diseases. Additionally, the epigenome plays an active role in mediating cellular responses to fluctuations of sensory or environmental stimuli. However, it remains unclear how exactly non-coding elements associate with epigenetic modifications to regulate gene expression changes and mediate phenotypic outcomes. Therefore, finer interrogations of the human epigenomic landscape in associating with non-coding variants are warranted.
  • 1.5K
  • 21 Jul 2021
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