Objective Assessment of Microsurgery Competency-In Search of a Validated Tool.

Microsurgical skill acquisition is an integral component of training in plastic surgery. Current microsurgical training is based on the subjective Halstedian model. An ideal microsurgery assessment tool should be able to deconstruct all the subskills of microsurgery and assess them objectively and reliably.

Cerebrospinal Fluid from Patients with Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Induces Degeneration of Motor Neurons Derived from Human Embryonic Stem Cells.

Disease modeling has become challenging in the context of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), as obtaining viable spinal motor neurons from postmortem patient tissue is an unlikely possibility. Limitations in the animal models due to their phylogenetic distance from human species hamper the success of translating possible findings into therapeutic options. Accordingly, there is a need for developing humanized models as a lead towards identifying successful therapeutic possibilities.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Facilitates Functional Recovery from ALS-Cerebral Spinal Fluid-Induced Neurodegenerative Changes in the NSC-34 Motor Neuron Cell Line.

Background: The survival of motor neurons is dependent upon neurotrophic factors both during childhood and adolescence and during adult life. In disease conditions, such as in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the mRNA levels of trophic factors like brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), and vascular endothelial growth factor are downregulated. This was replicated in our in vivo experimental system following the injection of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) of sporadic ALS (ALS-CSF) patients.

Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics to Identify a Novel Human Immunodeficiency Virus Inhibitor from Alkaloids of Toddalia asiatica.

Background: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an immunosuppressive disease. Over the past decades, it has plagued human health due to the grave consequences in its harness.

Objective: For this reason, anti-HIV agents are imperative, and the search for the same from natural resources would assure the safety.

Cerebrospinal Fluid from Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients Induces Mitochondrial and Lysosomal Dysfunction.

In our laboratory, we have developed (1) an in vitro model of sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (sALS) involving exposure of motor neurons to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from sALS patients and (2) an in vivo model involving intrathecal injection of sALS-CSF into rat pups. In the current study, we observed that spinal cord extract from the in vivo sALS model displayed elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial dysfunction. Quantitative proteomic analysis of sub-cellular fractions from spinal cord of the in vivo sALS model revealed down-regulation of 35 mitochondrial proteins and 4 lysosomal proteins.