The series is hosted by Charlie Rose "one of America's premier interviewers” and Eric Kandel "Nobel Laureate, Psychiatrist and Neuroscientist". It brings together leading neuroscientists and intellectuals to a round table discussion that explores different facets of the brain.
We started having a weekly podcast and discussion on the Charlie Rose Brain Series starting with Episode 1 - The Great Mysteries of the Human Brain.
The series is hosted by Charlie Rose "one of America's premier interviewers” and Eric Kandel "Nobel Laureate, Psychiatrist and Neuroscientist". It brings together leading neuroscientists and intellectuals to a round table discussion that explores different facets of the brain. Shruti S (2nd year PhD scholar) presented the paper "Treatment with a coinducer of the heat shock response delays muscle denervation in the SOD1-G93A mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis" by Bernadett Kalmar, Emem Edet-Amana & Linda Greensmith from the journal Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, 2012.
ABSTRACT We undertook a longitudinal study of the histological and biochemical changes at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) in muscles of SOD1-G93A mice. We also assessed these functions in mice treated with a known heat shock protein inducer, arimoclomol. Tissue samples of treated and untreated mSOD mice were analysed for AChE and ChAT enzyme activities as markers of neuromuscular function. Sections of hindlimb muscles (TA, EDL and soleus) were also stained for succinate dehydrogenase and silver cholinesterase activities as well as for immunohistochemistry. Hsp70 levels were also measured from muscle samples using ELISA. Results showed that denervation and nerve sprouting were present at symptom onset in fast muscles, although slow muscles remained fully innervated. Cholinergic enzyme activities were reduced prior to denervation and declined further with disease progression. Reduction of endplate size, a slow to fast shift in muscle phenotype was also observed. Treatment with arimoclomol delayed the appearance of these changes, increased innervation, cholinergic enzyme activities and endplate size and reversed muscle fi bre transformation. These beneficial effects of arimoclomol in muscles were accompanied by an increase in Hsp70 expression. In conclusion, our results indicate that pharmacological targeting of muscles at early stages of disease may be a successful strategy to ameliorate disease progression in ALS. Ajay Kumar (2nd year PhD Scholar) presented the progress of his PhD study on Well-being in Rajayoga practitioners.
Nesin Sibin (2nd year PhD scholar) presented the paper by Lieu etal in Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism (2010) entitled "Bone marrow stromal cells enhance inter- and intracortical axonal connections after ischemic stroke in adult rats".
ABSTRACT We investigated axonal plasticity in the bilateral motor cortices in rats after unilateral stroke and bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) treatment. Rats were subjected to permanent right middle cerebral artery occlusion followed by intravenous administration of phosphate-buffered saline or BMSCs 1 day later. Adhesive-removal test and modified neurologic severity score were performed weekly to monitor limb functional deficit and recovery. Anterograde tracing with biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) injected into the right motor cortex was used to assess axonal sprouting in the contralateral motor cortex and ipsilateral rostral forelimb area. Animals were killed 28 days after stroke. Progressive functional recovery was significantly enhanced by BMSCs. Compared with normal animals, axonal density in both contralateral motor cortex and ipsilateral rostral forelimb area significantly increased after stroke. Bone marrow stromal cells markedly enhanced such interhemispheric and intracortical connections. However, labeled transcallosal axons in the corpus callosum were not altered with either stroke or treatment. Both interhemispheric and intracortical axonal sprouting were significantly and highly correlated with behavioral outcome after stroke. This study suggests that, after stroke, cortical neurons surviving in the peri-infarct motor cortex undergo axonal sprouting to restore connections between different cerebral areas. Bone marrow stromal cells enhance axonal plasticity, which may underlie neurologic functional improvement. |
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August 2019
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