scholarly journals A deep-learning-based toolbox for Automated Limb Motion Analysis (ALMA) in murine models of neurological disorders

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Almir Aljovic ◽  
Shuqing Zhao ◽  
Maryam Chahin ◽  
Clara de la Rosa del Val ◽  
Valerie Van Steenbergen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
Motion Analysis ◽  
Disease Onset ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Neurological Conditions ◽  
Locomotor Deficits ◽  
Brain And Spinal Cord ◽  
The Brain

In neuroscience research, the refined analysis of rodent locomotion is complex and cumbersome, and access to the technique is limited because of the necessity for expensive equipment. In this study, we implemented a new deep-learning-based toolbox for Automated Limb Motion Analysis (ALMA) that requires only basic behavioral equipment and an inexpensive camera. The ALMA toolbox enables the unbiased and comprehensive analyses of locomotor kinematics and paw placement and can be applied to neurological conditions affecting the brain and spinal cord. We demonstrated that the ALMA toolbox can (1) robustly track the evolution of locomotor deficits after spinal cord injury, (2) sensitively detect locomotor abnormalities after traumatic brain injury, and (3) correctly predict disease onset in a multiple sclerosis model. We, therefore, established a broadly applicable automated and standardized approach that requires minimal financial and time commitments to facilitate the comprehensive analysis of locomotion in rodent disease models.

scholarly journals Levetiracetam treatment leads to functional recovery after thoracic or cervical injuries of the spinal cord

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Lima ◽  
Eduardo D. Gomes ◽  
Jorge R. Cibrão ◽  
Luís A. Rocha ◽  
Rita C. Assunção-Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Glutamate Excitotoxicity ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Thoracic Level ◽  
Promising Target ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Cervical Injuries ◽  
Brain And Spinal Cord ◽  
Primary Injury ◽  
The Brain

AbstractSpinal cord injury (SCI) leads to dramatic impairments of motor, sensory, and autonomic functions of affected individuals. Following the primary injury, there is an increased release of glutamate that leads to excitotoxicity and further neuronal death. Therefore, modulating glutamate excitotoxicity seems to be a promising target to promote neuroprotection during the acute phase of the injury. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effect of a FDA approved antiepileptic drug (levetiracetam-LEV), known for binding to the synaptic vesicle protein SV2A in the brain and spinal cord. LEV therapy was tested in two models of SCI—one affecting the cervical and other the thoracic level of the spinal cord. The treatment was effective on both SCI models. Treated animals presented significant improvements on gross and fine motor functions. The histological assessment revealed a significant decrease of cavity size, as well as higher neuronal and oligodendrocyte survival on treated animals. Molecular analysis revealed that LEV acts by stabilizing the astrocytes allowing an effective uptake of the excess glutamate from the extracellular space. Overall, our results demonstrate that Levetiracetam may be a promising drug for acute management of SCI.

scholarly journals Imaging of Neurotrauma in Acute and Chronic Settings

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shane Mallon ◽  
Jacek M. Kwiecien ◽  
John P. Karis
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Vasogenic Edema ◽  
Prognostic Information ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Exciting Potential ◽  
Anti Inflammatory ◽  
Work Up ◽  
Brain And Spinal Cord ◽  
The Brain

: Traumatic injuries of the brain and spinal cord are a significant source of mortality and long-term disability. A recent systematic study in a rat model of spinal cord injury (SCI) indicates severe, destructive, and very protracted inflammation as the key mechanism initiated by the massive injury involving the white matter. Although the severe inflammation is localized and counteracted by astrogliosis, it has a damaging effect on the blood vessels in the surrounding spinal cord, leading to persistent vasogenic edema. To evaluate these injuries, imaging of the brain and spinal cord plays a crucial role in the acute trauma work-up, allowing clinicians to quickly identify abnormalities that require immediate medical or surgical intervention or to exclude them from the work-up. Recently, anti-inflammatory agents have been shown to inhibit and accelerate the elimination of post-SCI inflammation in preclinical studies, and an exciting potential has arisen for the use of anti-inflammatory drugs in clinical studies to achieve neuroprotection (i.e., inhibition of destruction caused by inflammation) and to inhibit vasogenic edema in SCI, traumatic brain injury, and stroke. In both subacute and chronic settings, imaging can be a guide to therapy and provide important prognostic information. In this review, we discuss the imaging work-up and evolving imaging findings of neurotrauma in the acute and chronic setting, including conventional and advanced imaging techniques. As neuroimaging is the primary mode of diagnostic analysis in neurotrauma, it is a critical component in future clinical trials evaluating neuroprotective therapies.

scholarly journals Exercise Ameliorates Spinal Cord Injury by Changing DNA Methylation

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Ganchimeg Davaa ◽  
Jin Young Hong ◽  
Tae Uk Kim ◽  
Seong Jae Lee ◽  
Seo Young Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Functional Recovery ◽  
Treadmill Exercise ◽  
Exercise Group ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Epigenetic Changes ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
The Brain

Exercise training is a traditional method to maximize remaining function in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), but the exact mechanism by which exercise promotes recovery after SCI has not been identified; whether exercise truly has a beneficial effect on SCI also remains unclear. Previously, we showed that epigenetic changes in the brain motor cortex occur after SCI and that a treatment leading to epigenetic modulation effectively promotes functional recovery after SCI. We aimed to determine how exercise induces functional improvement in rats subjected to SCI and whether epigenetic changes are engaged in the effects of exercise. A spinal cord contusion model was established in rats, which were then subjected to treadmill exercise for 12 weeks. We found that the size of the lesion cavity and the number of macrophages were decreased more in the exercise group than in the control group after 12 weeks of injury. Immunofluorescence and DNA dot blot analysis revealed that levels of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) in the brain motor cortex were increased after exercise. Accordingly, the expression of ten-eleven translocation (Tet) family members (Tet1, Tet2, and Tet3) in the brain motor cortex also elevated. However, no macrophage polarization was induced by exercise. Locomotor function, including Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) and ladder scores, also improved in the exercise group compared to the control group. We concluded that treadmill exercise facilitates functional recovery in rats with SCI, and mechanistically epigenetic changes in the brain motor cortex may contribute to exercise-induced improvements.

scholarly journals Exoskeletons, Rehabilitation and Bodily Capacities

2021 ◽  
pp. 1357034X2110256
Author(s):  
Denisa Butnaru
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Cerebrovascular Accidents ◽  
Complex Processes ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Neurological Conditions

Motility impairments resulting from spinal cord injuries and cerebrovascular accidents are increasingly prevalent in society, leading to the growing development of rehabilitative robotic technologies, among them exoskeletons. This article outlines how bodies with neurological conditions such as spinal cord injury and stroke engage in processes of re-appropriation while using exoskeletons and some of the challenges they face. The main task of exoskeletons in rehabilitative environments is either to rehabilitate or ameliorate anatomic functions of impaired bodies. In these complex processes, they also play a crucial role in recasting specific corporeal phenomenologies. For the accomplishment of these forms of corporeal re-appropriation, the role of experts is crucial. This article explores how categories such as bodily resistance, techno-inter-corporeal co-production of bodies and machines, as well as body work mark the landscape of these contemporary forms of impaired corporeality. While defending corporeal extension rather than incorporation, I argue against the figure of the ‘cyborg’ and posit the idea of ‘residual subjectivity’.

scholarly journals Longitudinal [18F]FDG and [13N]NH3 PET/CT imaging of brain and spinal cord in a canine hemisection spinal cord injury model

2021 ◽  
pp. 102692
Author(s):  
Lijian Zhang ◽  
Francisco R. López-Picón ◽  
Yingqin Jia ◽  
Yao Chen ◽  
Juan Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Ct Imaging ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury Model ◽  
Injury Model ◽  
Pet Ct ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
18F Fdg ◽  
Brain And Spinal Cord

scholarly journals Characterization of microglial transcriptomes in the brain and spinal cord of mice in early and late experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis using a RiboTag strategy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaona Acharjee ◽  
Paul M. K. Gordon ◽  
Benjamin H. Lee ◽  
Justin Read ◽  
Matthew L. Workentine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis ◽  
Transcriptional Changes ◽  
Brain And Spinal Cord ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Experimental Autoimmune

AbstractMicroglia play an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis and the mouse model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). To more fully understand the role of microglia in EAE we characterized microglial transcriptomes before the onset of motor symptoms (pre-onset) and during symptomatic EAE. We compared the transcriptome in brain, where behavioral changes are initiated, and spinal cord, where damage is revealed as motor and sensory deficits. We used a RiboTag strategy to characterize ribosome-bound mRNA only in microglia without incurring possible transcriptional changes after cell isolation. Brain and spinal cord samples clustered separately at both stages of EAE, indicating regional heterogeneity. Differences in gene expression were observed in the brain and spinal cord of pre-onset and symptomatic animals with most profound effects in the spinal cord of symptomatic animals. Canonical pathway analysis revealed changes in neuroinflammatory pathways, immune functions and enhanced cell division in both pre-onset and symptomatic brain and spinal cord. We also observed a continuum of many pathways at pre-onset stage that continue into the symptomatic stage of EAE. Our results provide additional evidence of regional and temporal heterogeneity in microglial gene expression patterns that may help in understanding mechanisms underlying various symptomology in MS.

scholarly journals CTNI-03. IMAGING FEATURES OF LEPTOMENINGEAL METASTASES OF NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER: A SINGLE-CENTER REAL-WORLD STUDY

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii41-ii41
Author(s):  
Junjie Zhen ◽  
Lei Wen ◽  
Shaoqun Li ◽  
Mingyao Lai ◽  
Changguo Shan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Type A ◽  
Brain Parenchyma ◽  
Imaging Features ◽  
Type B ◽  
Type D ◽  
Mri Examination ◽  
Mri Features ◽  
Brain And Spinal Cord ◽  
The Brain

Abstract BACKGROUND According to EANO-ESMO clinical practice guidelines, the MRI findings of LM are divided into 4 types, namely linear enhancement (type A), nodular enhancement (type B), linear combined with nodular enhancement (type C), and sign of hydrocephalus (type D). METHODS The MRI features of brain and spinal cord in patients diagnosed with NSCLC-LM in Guangdong Sanjiu Brain Hospital from 2010 until 2019 were investigated, and then were classified into 4 types. The imaging features were analyzed. RESULTS A total of 80 patients were enrolled in the study. The median age of the patients was 53.5 years old, and the median time from the initial diagnosis to the confirmed diagnosis of LM was 11.6 months. The results of enhanced MRI examination of the brain in 79 cases showed that the number of cases with enhancements of type A, B, C and D were 50 (63.3%), 0, 26 (32.9%) and 3 (3.8%), respectively, and that LM with metastases to the brain parenchyma was found in 42 cases (53.2%). The results of enhanced MRI examination of spinal cord in 59 cases showed that there were only enhancements of type A and C in 40 cases (67.8%) and 3 cases (5.0%), and no enhancement sign in the other 16 cases (27.2%). CONCLUSION MRI examination of brain and spinal cord will improve the detection rate of LM. The MRI features of NSCLC-LM in real world are mainly characterized by the linear enhancements of brain and spinal cord, followed by linear combined with nodular enhancement. The enhancements of type B and type D are rare in clinic. Almost half of the patients have LM and metastases to the brain parenchyma. Therefore, the differentiation of tumor metastases is needed to be paid attention to for the early diagnosis and the formulation of reasonable treatment plans.

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