Publications by authors named "Kiera Degener-O'Brien"
Objective: Because the role of white matter (WM) degenerating microglia (DM) in remyelination failure is unclear, we sought to define the core features of this novel population of aging human microglia.
Methods: We analyzed postmortem human brain tissue to define a population of DM in aging WM lesions. We used immunofluorescence staining and gene expression analysis to investigate molecular mechanisms related to the degeneration of DM.
Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) often have cerebral white matter (WM) hyperintensities on MRI and microinfarcts of presumed microvascular origin pathologically. Here, we determined if vasodilator dysfunction of WM-penetrating arterioles is associated with pathologically defined WM injury and disturbances in quantitative MRI-defined WM integrity in patients with mixed microvascular and AD pathology. We analyzed tissues from 28 serially collected human brains from research donors diagnosed with varying degrees of AD neuropathologic change (ADNC) with or without cerebral microinfarcts (mVBI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUtility of upright radiographs in traumatic thoracolumbar fracture management.
BMC Musculoskelet Disord
March 2022
Background: It is common practice to use a combination approach of computed tomography (CT) scan followed by upright radiographs when assessing traumatic thoracolumbar (TL) vertebral fractures. The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical utility of upright spine radiographs in the setting of traumatic TL fracture management. Our null hypothesis is that upright TL radiographs rarely change management of acute vertebral fractures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChildren who survive premature birth often exhibit reductions in hippocampal volumes and deficits in working memory. However, it is unclear whether synaptic plasticity and cellular mechanisms of learning and memory can be elicited or disrupted in the preterm fetal hippocampus. CA1 hippocampal neurons were exposed to two common insults to preterm brain: transient hypoxia-ischemia (HI) and hypoxia (Hx).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Preterm infants are at risk for neurobehavioral disabilities due to issues in brain growth, particularly involving subplate neurons (SPNs) which are crucial for developing cortical circuits.
- In a study using a preterm fetal sheep model, researchers found that SPNs are resistant to cell death from hypoxia-ischemia but showed altered maturation and reduced dendritic complexity due to these conditions.
- The findings suggest that limiting hypoxemia during brain development could help improve the growth and maturation of the cerebral cortex, potentially reducing cognitive impairments later in life.