Publications by authors named "D Kempuraj"
Article Synopsis
- - The neurovascular unit (NVU) inflammation from glial cell activation and neuronal damage significantly contributes to neurodegenerative diseases, though the exact disease mechanisms are not fully understood.
- - Biomarkers like neurofilament light (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) can indicate the severity, progression, and treatment response in various brain disorders by assessing brain cell health and blood-brain barrier integrity.
- - Chronic inflammation is prevalent in age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and certain biomarkers may change years before disease onset, highlighting their potential for early detection and research into neurovascular pathologies.
Objective: Long COVID is a major health concern because many patients develop chronic neuropsychiatric symptoms, but the precise pathogenesis is unknown. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) can disrupt neuronal connectivity and be elevated in patients with long COVID.
Methods: In this study, MMP-9 was measured in the serum of long COVID patients and healthy controls, as well as in the supernatant fluid of cultured human microglia cell line stimulated by recombinant severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Spike protein, as well as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and neurotensin (NT) used as positive controls.
Fentanyl, a potent analgesic and addictive substance, significantly impacts sleep-wakefulness (S-W). Acutely, it promotes wake, whereas chronic abuse leads to severe sleep disruptions, including insomnia, which contributes to opioid use disorders (OUD), a chronic brain disease characterized by compulsive opioid use and harmful consequences. Although the critical association between sleep disruptions and fentanyl addiction is acknowledged, the precise mechanisms through which fentanyl influences sleep remain elusive.
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- The study investigates how cholinergic interneurons (CIN) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) affect binge drinking behavior using a real-time imaging technique.
- Male mice exposed to binge alcohol consumption (Drinking in the Dark model) showed increased activity in CIN compared to a control group given sucrose.
- Results suggest that CIN activity in the NAc shell is important for alcohol self-administration, highlighting its potential as a target for treating alcohol use disorder (AUD).