Publications by authors named "M Broadhead"
Hyperexcitability of motor neurons and spinal cord motor circuitry has been widely reported in the early stages of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Changes in the relative amount of excitatory to inhibitory inputs onto a neuron (E:I synaptic ratio), possibly through a developmental shift in synapse formation in favour of excitatory transmission, could underlie pathological hyperexcitability. Given that astrocytes play a major role in early synaptogenesis and are implicated in ALS pathogenesis, their potential contribution to disease mechanisms involving synaptic imbalances and subsequent hyperexcitability is also of great interest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe size principle is a key mechanism governing the orderly recruitment of motor units and is believed to be dependent on passive properties of the constituent motoneurons. However, motoneurons are endowed with voltage-sensitive ion channels that create non-linearities in their input-output functions. Here we describe a role for the M-type potassium current, conducted by KCNQ channels, in the control of motoneuron recruitment in mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) involves the loss of motor neurons, which may be linked to changes in synapses related to TDP-43 protein issues.
- The study used advanced microscopy techniques to investigate the presence and distribution of pTDP-43 in excitatory synapses in the spinal cord of mice.
- Findings showed that pTDP-43 is present in about half of spinal cord synapses, primarily concentrated in those connected to VGLUT1 presynaptic terminals, and there was no observable difference in its expression between ALS-afflicted mice and healthy controls.
This report describes a case of bilateral acute ankle syndesmosis injuries in a 15-year-old male basketball player. The patient had a background of previous inversion injuries but no symptoms of chronic pain or instability. The case report illustrates the importance of clinical suspicion when evaluating acute syndesmosis injuries in conjunction with radiographic assessments in primary care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Sensitised patients undergoing Human Leukocyte Antigen-incompatible transplantation are at increased risk of hyperacute rejection and may be predisposed to antibody-mediated rejection, chronic lung allograft dysfunction and higher mortality.
Case: We present a case of primary lung transplantation in the setting of late identification of donor specific antibodies treated with intraoperative target plasma exchange. The patient was treated with fresh human plasma to a final volume of 1.