Introduction: Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is a very commonly performed neurosurgical procedure but there is a wide variation in how it is reported, hindering analysis of it. The current study sought to generate consensus on the reporting of ICP monitoring recording data.
Research Question: "What should be included in an ICP monitoring report?"
Material And Methods: The exercise was completed via a modified eDelphi survey.
Osteoporosis disrupts the fine-tuned balance between bone formation and resorption, leading to reductions in bone quantity and quality and ultimately increasing fracture risk. Prevention and treatment of osteoporotic fractures is essential for reductions in mortality, morbidity, and the economic burden, particularly considering the aging global population. Extreme bone loss that mimics time-accelerated osteoporosis develops in the paralyzed limbs following complete spinal cord injury (SCI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSomatosensory information is processed by a complex network of interneurons in the spinal dorsal horn. It has been reported that inhibitory interneurons that express neuropeptide Y (NPY), either permanently or during development, suppress mechanical itch, with no effect on pain. Here, we investigate the role of interneurons that continue to express NPY (NPY-INs) in the adult mouse spinal cord.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Characterise the spatiotemporal responses of trabecular and cortical bone to complete spinal cord injury (SCI) in the skeletally mature rat in the acute (4-week) period following injury.
Methods: The spinal cord of 5-month old male rats was transected at the T9 level. Outcome measures were assessed using micro-computed tomography, three-point bending and serum markers at 1-, 2-, and 4-weeks post-transection.
Volatile small molecules, including the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), acetate and propionate, released by the gut microbiota from the catabolism of nondigestible starches, can act in a hormone-like fashion via specific G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The primary GPCR targets for these SCFAs are FFA2 and FFA3. Using transgenic mice in which FFA2 was replaced by an altered form called a Designer Receptor Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (FFA2-DREADD), but in which FFA3 is unaltered, and a newly identified FFA2-DREADD agonist 4-methoxy-3-methyl-benzoic acid (MOMBA), we demonstrate how specific functions of FFA2 and FFA3 define a SCFA-gut-brain axis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Design: Explanatory and mechanistic study.
Objectives: A better understanding of the 'whole-body' response following spinal cord injury (SCI) is needed to guide future research aimed at developing novel therapeutic interventions and identifying prognostic indicators for SCI. This study aimed to characterise the blood proteome following contusion or complete SCI compared to a sham injury in rat models.
The limited regenerative capacity of the CNS poses formidable challenges to the repair of spinal cord injury (SCI). Two key barriers to repair are (i) the physical gap left by the injury, and (ii) the inhibitory milieu surrounding the injury, the glial scar. Biomaterial implantation into the injury site can fill the cavity, provide a substrate for cell migration, and potentially attenuate the glial scar.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis report was produced by an Expert Working Group (EWG) consisting of UK-based researchers, veterinarians and regulators of animal experiments with specialist knowledge of the use of animal models of spinal cord injury (SCI). It aims to facilitate the implementation of the Three Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement), with an emphasis on refinement. Specific animal welfare issues were identified and discussed, and practical measures proposed, with the aim of reducing animal use and suffering, reducing experimental variability, and increasing translatability within this critically important research field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicro-Computed Tomography bone analysis is the gold standard method for assessing trabecular and cortical bone microarchitecture in small animal bones. This technique reports morphometric parameters as averages over selected volumes of interest (VOIs). This study proposes the introduction of an additional global 2D morphometric step into the analysis process, that provides a survey of the underlying morphometric variation present throughout both trabecular and cortical bone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng
September 2019
Multi-channel nerve cuff electrode arrays can provide sensory feedback to prosthesis users. To develop efficacious stimulation protocols, an understanding of the impact that spatio-temporal patterned stimulation can have on the response of sensory fibers is crucial. We used experimental and modelling methods to investigate the response of nerve fibers to paired-pulse stimulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnnu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc
July 2018
Neural interfaces that stimulate the peripheral nerves have the potential to provide sensory feedback from artificial hands. Many neural interfaces are now being developed that allow for multi-channel stimulation of nerves. It is widely accepted that the electric fields generated by two or more contacts on a neural interface can interact.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExcitatory interneurons account for the majority of neurons in the superficial dorsal horn, but despite their presumed contribution to pain and itch, there is still limited information about their organisation and function. We recently identified 2 populations of excitatory interneuron defined by expression of gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) or substance P (SP). Here, we demonstrate that these cells show major differences in their morphological, electrophysiological, and pharmacological properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the version of this article initially published online, the labels were switched for the right-hand pair of bars in Fig. 4e. The left one of the two should be Chloroquine + veh, the right one Chloroquine + CNO.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStimuli that elicit itch are detected by sensory neurons that innervate the skin. This information is processed by the spinal cord; however, the way in which this occurs is still poorly understood. Here we investigated the neuronal pathways for itch neurotransmission, particularly the contribution of the neuropeptide somatostatin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutologous cell transplantation is a promising strategy for repair of the injured spinal cord. Here we have studied the repair potential of mesenchymal stromal cells isolated from the human olfactory mucosa after transplantation into a rodent model of incomplete spinal cord injury. Investigation of peripheral type remyelination at the injury site using immunocytochemistry for P0, showed a more extensive distribution in transplanted compared with control animals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSchwann cell (SC) transplantation following spinal cord injury (SCI) may have therapeutic potential. Functional recovery is limited however, due to poor SC interactions with host astrocytes and the induction of astrogliosis. Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) are closely related to SCs, but intermix more readily with astrocytes in culture and induce less astrogliosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe spinal dorsal horn contains numerous inhibitory interneurons that control transmission of somatosensory information. Although these cells have important roles in modulating pain, we still have limited information about how they are incorporated into neuronal circuits, and this is partly due to difficulty in assigning them to functional populations. Around 15% of inhibitory interneurons in laminae I-III express neuropeptide Y (NPY), but little is known about this population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe superficial dorsal horn of the spinal cord contains numerous inhibitory interneurons, which regulate the transmission of information perceived as touch, pain, or itch. Despite the importance of these cells, our understanding of their roles in the neuronal circuitry is limited by the difficulty in identifying functional populations. One group that has been identified and characterized consists of cells in the mouse that express green fluorescent protein (GFP) under control of the prion protein (PrP) promoter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRett syndrome (RTT) is a genetic disorder characterized by a range of features including cognitive impairment, gait abnormalities and a reduction in purposeful hand skills. Mice harbouring knockout mutations in the Mecp2 gene display many RTT-like characteristics and are central to efforts to find novel therapies for the disorder. As hand stereotypies and gait abnormalities constitute major diagnostic criteria in RTT, it is clear that motor and gait-related phenotypes will be of importance in assessing preclinical therapeutic outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Lamina I projection neurons respond to painful stimuli, and some are also activated by touch or hair movement. Neuropathic pain resulting from peripheral nerve damage is often associated with tactile allodynia (touch-evoked pain), and this may result from increased responsiveness of lamina I projection neurons to non-noxious mechanical stimuli. It is thought that polysynaptic pathways involving excitatory interneurons can transmit tactile inputs to lamina I projection neurons, but that these are normally suppressed by inhibitory interneurons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Inhibitory interneurons in the superficial dorsal horn play important roles in modulating sensory transmission, and these roles are thought to be performed by distinct functional populations. We have identified 4 non-overlapping classes among the inhibitory interneurons in the rat, defined by the presence of galanin, neuropeptide Y, neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and parvalbumin. The somatostatin receptor sst2A is expressed by ~50% of the inhibitory interneurons in this region, and is particularly associated with nNOS- and galanin-expressing cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell transplantation is one strategy for encouraging regeneration after spinal cord injury and a range of cell types have been investigated for their repair potential. However, variations in study design complicate determination of which cells are most effective. In this study we have carried out a direct comparison of the regenerative and integrative properties of several cell preparations following transplantation into the lesioned rat spinal cord.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo effectively study the mechanisms by which deep brain stimulation (DBS) produces its therapeutic benefit and to evaluate new therapeutic indications, it is vital to administer DBS over an extended period of time in awake, freely behaving animals. To date multiple preclinical stimulators have been designed and described. However, these stimulators have failed to incorporate some of the design criteria necessary to provide a system analogous to those used clinically.
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