Consciousness among delta waves: a paradox?

A common observation in EEG research is that consciousness vanishes with the appearance of delta (1-4 Hz) waves, particularly when those waves are high amplitude. High amplitude delta oscillations are frequently observed in states of diminished consciousness, including slow wave sleep, anaesthesia, generalized epileptic seizures, and disorders of consciousness, such as coma and the vegetative state. This strong correlation between loss of consciousness and high amplitude delta oscillations is thought to stem from the widespread cortical deactivation that occurs during the 'down states' or troughs of these slow oscillations.

Race/Ethnicity and Community Participation Among Veterans and Service Members With Traumatic Brain Injury: A VA Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Study.

Objective: To examine racial/ethnic disparities in community participation among veterans and active duty service members with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Setting: Five Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) TBI Model Systems (TBIMS) Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers (PRCs). Participants: Three hundred forty-two community-dwelling adults (251 White, 34 Black, and 57 Hispanic) with TBI enrolled in the VA TBIMS National Database who completed a 1-year follow-up interview.

Primary Language and Participation Outcomes in Hispanics With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Study.

Objective: To examine the relationship between primary language and participation outcomes in English- and Spanish-speaking persons with complicated mild to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) at 1 year post-injury.

Setting: Community following discharge from inpatient rehabilitation.

Participants: A total of 998 Hispanic participants with outcomes available at year 1 follow-up; 492 (49%) indicated English as their primary language and 506 (51%) indicated Spanish as their primary language.

Differential Leukocyte and Platelet Profiles in Distinct Models of Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects over 3 million individuals every year in the U.S. There is growing appreciation that TBI can produce systemic modifications, which are in part propagated through blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction and blood-brain cell interactions.

Immunomodulatory Effects of Azithromycin Revisited: Potential Applications to COVID-19.

The rapid advancement of the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted an accelerated pursuit to identify effective therapeutics. Stages of the disease course have been defined by viral burden, lung pathology, and progression through phases of the immune response. Immunological factors including inflammatory cell infiltration and cytokine storm have been associated with severe disease and death.

Association Between Previous Concussion Education and Concussion Care-Seeking Outcomes Among National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Student-Athletes.

Context: Limited data exist concerning differences in concussion-education exposure and how education exposures relate to care seeking and symptom disclosure, specifically by National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I student-athletes.

Objective: To investigate demographic characteristics associated with concussion-education exposure and examine whether overall education exposure (yes versus no) and education-source exposure number (multiple sources versus a single source) affect concussion care-seeking and disclosure factors in Division I student-athletes.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Assessment of Blood Biomarker Profile After Acute Concussion During Combative Training Among US Military Cadets: A Prospective Study From the NCAA and US Department of Defense CARE Consortium.

Importance: Validation of protein biomarkers for concussion diagnosis and management in military combative training is important, as these injuries occur outside of traditional health care settings and are generally difficult to diagnose.

Objective: To investigate acute blood protein levels in military cadets after combative training-associated concussions.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This multicenter prospective case-control study was part of a larger cohort study conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the US Department of Defense Concussion Assessment Research and Education (CARE) Consortium from February 20, 2015, to May 31, 2018.

Macrophage-Engineered Vesicles for Therapeutic Delivery and Bidirectional Reprogramming of Immune Cell Polarization.

Macrophages, one of the most important phagocytic cells of the immune system, are highly plastic and are known to exhibit diverse roles under different pathological conditions. The ability to repolarize macrophages from pro-inflammatory (M1) to anti-inflammatory (M2) or offers a promising therapeutic approach for treating various diseases such as traumatic injury and cancer. Herein, it is demonstrated that macrophage-engineered vesicles (MEVs) generated by disruption of macrophage cellular membranes can be used as nanocarriers capable of reprogramming macrophages and microglia toward either pro- or anti-inflammatory phenotypes.

Pioglitazone does not synergize with mirabegron to increase beige fat or further improve glucose metabolism.

BACKGROUNDBeige and brown adipose tissue (BAT) are associated with improved metabolic homeostasis. We recently reported that the β3-adrenergic receptor agonist mirabegron induced beige adipose tissue in obese insulin-resistant subjects, and this was accompanied by improved glucose metabolism. Here we evaluated pioglitazone treatment with a combination pioglitazone and mirabegron treatment and compared these with previously published data evaluating mirabegron treatment alone.

Novel Influences of Sex and Genotype on Spinal Plasticity and Recovery of Function after Spinal Cord Injury.

Spinal cord injuries can abolish both motor and sensory function throughout the body. Spontaneous recovery after injury is limited and can vary substantially between individuals. Despite an abundance of therapeutic approaches that have shown promise in preclinical models, there is currently a lack of effective treatment strategies that have been translated to restore function after spinal cord injury (SCI) in the human population.

Opportunities for Prevention of Concussion and Repetitive Head Impact Exposure in College Football Players: A Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education (CARE) Consortium Study.

Importance: Concussion ranks among the most common injuries in football. Beyond the risks of concussion are growing concerns that repetitive head impact exposure (HIE) may increase risk for long-term neurologic health problems in football players.

Objective: To investigate the pattern of concussion incidence and HIE across the football season in collegiate football players.

Arginase 1 Insufficiency Precipitates Amyloid- Deposition and Hastens Behavioral Impairment in a Mouse Model of Amyloidosis.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) includes several hallmarks comprised of amyloid- (Aβ) deposition, tau neuropathology, inflammation, and memory impairment. Brain metabolism becomes uncoupled due to aging and other AD risk factors, which ultimately lead to impaired protein clearance and aggregation. Increasing evidence indicates a role of arginine metabolism in AD, where arginases are key enzymes in neurons and glia capable of depleting arginine and producing ornithine and polyamines.

Simultaneous measurements of tissue blood flow and oxygenation using a wearable fiber-free optical sensor.

Significance: There is an essential need to develop wearable multimodality technologies that can continuously measure both blood flow and oxygenation in deep tissues to investigate and manage various vascular/cellular diseases.

Aim: To develop a wearable dual-wavelength diffuse speckle contrast flow oximetry (DSCFO) for simultaneous measurements of blood flow and oxygenation variations in deep tissues.

Approach: A wearable fiber-free DSCFO probe was fabricated using 3D printing to confine two small near-infrared laser diodes and a tiny CMOS camera in positions for DSCFO measurements.

Dietary fructose as a model to explore the influence of peripheral metabolism on brain function and plasticity.

High consumption of fructose has paralleled an explosion in metabolic disorders including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Even more problematic, sustained consumption of fructose is perceived as a threat for brain function and development of neurological disorders. The action of fructose on peripheral organs is an excellent model to understand how systemic physiology impacts the brain.

Genetic Approach to Elucidate the Role of Cyclophilin D in Traumatic Brain Injury Pathology.

Cyclophilin D (CypD) has been shown to play a critical role in mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening and the subsequent cell death cascade. Studies consistently demonstrate that mitochondrial dysfunction, including mitochondrial calcium overload and mPTP opening, is essential to the pathobiology of cell death after a traumatic brain injury (TBI). CypD inhibitors, such as cyclosporin A (CsA) or NIM811, administered following TBI, are neuroprotective and quell neurological deficits.

Recovery From Repeat Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Adolescent Rats Is Dependent on Pre-injury Activity State.

Adolescents and young adults have the highest incidence of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI); sport-related activities are a major contributor. Roughly a third of these patients diagnosed with mTBI are estimated to have received a subsequent repeat mTBI (rTBI). Previously, animal studies have only modeled mTBI in sedentary animals.

Evolution of Irritability, Anger, and Aggression after Traumatic Brain Injury: Identifying and Predicting Subgroups.

The current prospective, multi-center, longitudinal cohort study examined how veterans/service members (V/SM) changed in their irritability, anger, and aggression (IAA) scores from admission to discharge in post-acute rehabilitation settings. The goals were to identify trajectory subgroups, and explore if there were different predictors of the subgroups. V/SM ( = 346) from five Veterans Affairs TBI Model Systems Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers participated.

Hemoglobin induces oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells.

Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) in the infant brain give rise to mature oligodendrocytes that myelinate CNS axons. OPCs are particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress that occurs in many forms of brain injury. One common cause of infant brain injury is neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), which releases blood into the CSF and brain parenchyma of preterm infants.

Reflections on Data Sharing Practices in Spinal Cord Injury Research.

There are few pharmacological therapeutics available for spinal cord injury despite years of preclinical and clinical research. This brief editorial discusses some of the shortcomings of translational research efforts. In addition, we comment on our previous experiences with data curation and highlight evolving efforts by the spinal cord injury research community to improve prospects for future therapeutic development, especially pertaining to preclinical data sharing through the Open Data Commons for Spinal Cord Injury (ODC-SCI).

The interaction between brain and liver regulates lipid metabolism in the TBI pathology.

To shed light on the impact of systemic physiology on the pathology of traumatic brain injury (TBI), we examine the effects of TBI (concussive injury) and dietary fructose on critical aspects of lipid homeostasis in the brain and liver of young-adult rats. Lipids are integral components of brain structure and function, and the liver has a role on the synthesis and metabolism of lipids. Fructose is mainly metabolized in the liver with potential implications for brain function.

The relationship between resilience and neurophysiological stress in Special Operations Forces combat service members.

Military resilience research is increasing due to the growing literature associating resilience with stress adaptation. This study aimed to investigate which physiological stress adaptation components were associated with resilience in Special Operations Forces combat service members. Special Operations Forces combat service members (n = 117) self-reported resilience (ER89) and lifetime clinician-confirmed mild traumatic brain injury history.

Mitochondria exert age-divergent effects on recovery from spinal cord injury.

The extent that age-dependent mitochondrial dysfunction drives neurodegeneration is not well understood. This study tested the hypothesis that mitochondria contribute to spinal cord injury (SCI)-induced neurodegeneration in an age-dependent manner by using 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) to uncouple electron transport, thereby increasing cellular respiration and reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. We directly compared the effects of graded DNP doses in 4- and 14-month-old (MO) SCI-mice and found DNP to have increased efficacy in mitochondria isolated from 14-MO animals.

Chemical genetics of regeneration: Contrasting temporal effects of CoCl on axolotl tail regeneration.

Background: Histone deacetylases (HDACs) regulate transcriptional responses to injury stimuli that are critical for successful tissue regeneration. Previously we showed that HDAC inhibitor romidepsin potently inhibits axolotl tail regeneration when applied for only 1-minute postamputation (MPA).

Results: Here we tested CoCl a chemical that induces hypoxia and cellular stress, for potential to reverse romidepsin inhibition of tail regeneration.