Synaptic modulation of glutamate in striatum of the YAC128 mouse model of Huntington disease.

Background: Altered balance between striatal direct and indirect pathways contributes to early motor, cognitive and psychiatric symptoms in Huntington disease (HD). While degeneration of striatal D2-type dopamine receptor (D2)-expressing indirect pathway medium spiny neurons (iMSNs) occurs prior to that of D1-type dopamine receptor (D1)-expressing direct pathway neurons, altered corticostriatal synaptic function precedes degeneration. D2-mediated signaling on iMSNs reduces their excitability and promotes endocannabinoid (eCB) synthesis, suppressing glutamate release from cortical afferents.

Exome and Genome Sequencing to Diagnose the Genetic Basis of Neonatal Hypotonia: An International Consortium Study.

Background And Objectives: Hypotonia is a relatively common finding among infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Consideration of genetic testing is recommended early in the care of infants with unexplained hypotonia. We aimed to assess the diagnostic yield and overall impact of exome and genome sequencing (ES and GS).

Embedded 3D printing of engineered lung cancer model for assisting fine-needle aspiration biopsy.

Lung cancer is a serious global health issue that requires the development of patient-specific, lung cancer model for surgical planning to train interventionalists and improve the accuracy of biopsies. Although the emergence of three-dimensional (3D) printing provides a promising solution to create customized models with complicated architectures, current 3D printing methods cannot accurately duplicate anatomical-level lung constructs with tumor(s) which are applicable for hands-on training and procedure planning. To address this issue, an embedded printing strategy is proposed to create respiratory bronchioles, blood vessels, and tumors in a photocurable yield-stress matrix bath.