Development of self-healing hydrogels to support choroidal endothelial cell transplantation for the treatment of early age related macular degeneration.

In retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and choroideremia, a key pathophysiologic step is loss of endothelial cells of the choriocapillaris. Repopulation of choroidal vasculature early in the disease process may halt disease progression. Prior studies have shown that injection of donor cells in suspension results in significant cellular efflux and poor cell survival.

Elevation of Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor in Human AMD Donor RPE-Choroid.

Purpose: Choroidal inflammation, complement deposition, and accumulation of C-reactive protein (CRP) are involved in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) pathology. The pro-inflammatory signals that regulate immune cell recruitment in the choroid of patients with AMD remain to be determined. We performed cytokine profiling of human AMD and age-matched control donor tissue to identify inflammatory molecules upregulated in AMD tissue.

The reliability of a ball-tipped probe for detection of breached versus non-breached pedicle drill tracts in the thoracolumbar and lumbar spine of a canine large breed cadaveric model.

Background: Spinal stabilization in dogs is challenging, and improper implant placement can result in significant morbidity. Objectives were to evaluate reliability of a ball-tipped probe for detection of breached versus non-breached pedicle drill tracts in a canine large breed cadaveric model. CT scans obtained from T6 to sacrum.

Endogenous neuronal DNA double-strand breaks are not sufficient to drive brain aging and neurodegeneration.

Loss of genomic information due to the accumulation of somatic DNA damage has been implicated in aging and neurodegeneration . Somatic mutations in human neurons increase with age , but it is unclear whether this is a cause or a consequence of brain aging. Here, we clarify the role of endogenous, neuronal DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in brain aging and neurodegeneration by generating mice with post-developmental inactivation of the classical non-homologous end-joining (C-NHEJ) core factor Xrcc4 in forebrain neurons.

Ghost vessels in the eye: Cell free choriocapillaris domains in atrophic age-related macular degeneration.

The choriocapillaris is a dense vascular bed in the inner choroid that supplies the photoreceptor cells and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). While loss of choriocapillaris density has been described in association with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), whether these changes are primary or secondary to RPE degenerative changes in AMD has been debated. In this study we characterized choriocapillaris loss by quantifying "ghost" vessels in a series of 99 human donor maculae labeled with the UEA-I lectin, and found significant increases in early-intermediate AMD and a greater difference in geographic atrophy in areas with intact RPE.