Publications by authors named "Theresa M Connors"
Cell transplantation therapy is a promising strategy for spinal cord injury (SCI) repair. Despite advancements in the development of therapeutic strategies in acute and subacute SCI, much less is known about effective strategies for chronic SCI. In previous studies we demonstrated that transplants of neural progenitor cells (NPC) created a permissive environment for axon regeneration and formed a neuronal relay across the injury following an acute dorsal column injury.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Cardiovascular dysfunction often follows high-level spinal cord injuries due to disrupted brain pathways that regulate blood flow, leading to a condition called autonomic dysreflexia (AD).
- Researchers implanted serotonergic neuron-enriched stem cells into spinal cord injury sites in rats to investigate if restoring serotonin pathways could improve cardiovascular performance.
- Results showed that the grafted neurons integrated with host tissue, restored normal blood pressure, and alleviated symptoms of AD, suggesting that these stem cells can help reconnect brain control over autonomic functions after spinal cord injury.
Transplantation of neural progenitor cells (NPC) is a promising therapeutic strategy for replacing neurons lost after spinal cord injury, but significant challenges remain regarding neuronal integration and functional connectivity. Here we tested the ability of graft-derived neurons to reestablish connectivity by forming neuronal relays between injured dorsal column (DC) sensory axons and the denervated dorsal column nuclei (DCN). A mixed population of neuronal and glial restricted precursors (NRP/GRP) derived from the embryonic spinal cord of alkaline phosphatase (AP) transgenic rats were grafted acutely into a DC lesion at C1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF