Psoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated skin disorder characterized by intense local inflammation, epidermal hyperplasia, and leukocyte infiltration. Current treatment approaches for psoriasis aim to alleviate symptoms and prevent disease progression, including systemically administered drugs with whole body side effects. Despite some advances in psoriasis treatment, success has been quite limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathological nociception arising from peripheral nerve injury impacts quality of life. Current therapeutics are generally ineffective. However, photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) has shown promise in addressing this issue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOverexpression of vesicular stomatitis virus G protein (VSV-G) elevates the secretion of EVs known as gectosomes, which contain VSV-G. Such vesicles can be engineered to deliver therapeutic macromolecules. We investigated viral glycoproteins from several viruses for their potential in gectosome production and intracellular cargo delivery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRegular aerobic activity is associated with a reduced risk of chronic pain in humans and rodents. Our previous studies in rodents have shown that prior voluntary wheel running can normalize redox signaling at the site of peripheral nerve injury, attenuating subsequent neuropathic pain. However, the full extent of neuroprotection offered by voluntary wheel running after peripheral nerve injury is unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFemales represent a majority of chronic pain patients and show greater inflammatory immune responses in human chronic pain patient populations as well as in animal models of neuropathic pain. Recent discoveries in chronic pain research have revealed sex differences in inflammatory signaling, a key component of sensory pathology in chronic neuropathic pain, inviting more research into the nuances of these sex differences. Here we use the chronic constriction injury (CCI) model to explore similarities and differences in expression and production of Inflammatory cytokine IL-1beta in the lumbar spinal cord, as well as its role in chronic pain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimal and human studies have shown that exercise prior to nerve injury prevents later chronic pain, but the mechanisms of such preconditioning remain elusive. Given that exercise acutely increases the formation of free radicals, triggering antioxidant compensation, we hypothesized that voluntary running preconditioning would attenuate neuropathic pain by supporting redox homeostasis after sciatic nerve injury in male and female rats. We show that 6 weeks of voluntary wheel running suppresses neuropathic pain development induced by chronic constriction injury across both sexes.
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