scholarly journals The Impact of Optogenetics on Regenerative Medicine

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
Gianrico Spagnuolo ◽  
Fabio Genovese ◽  
Leonzio Fortunato ◽  
Michele Simeone ◽  
Carlo Rengo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Regenerative Medicine ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Stroke Recovery ◽  
Optical Systems ◽  
Cell Physiology ◽  
Excitable Cells ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Signal Coding

Optogenetics is a novel strategic field that combines light (opto-) and genetics (genetic) into applications able to control the activity of excitable cells and neuronal circuits. Using genetic manipulation, optogenetics may induce the coding of photosensitive ion channels on specific neurons: this non-invasive technology combines several approaches that allow users to achieve improved optical control and higher resolution. This technology can be applied to optical systems already present in the clinical-diagnostic field, and it has also excellent effects on biological investigations and on therapeutic strategies. Recently, several biomedical applications of optogenetics have been investigated, such as applications in ophthalmology, in bone repairing, in heart failure recovery, in post-stroke recovery, in tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine (TERM). Nevertheless, the most promising and developed applications of optogenetics are related to dynamic signal coding in cell physiology and neurological diseases. In this review, we will describe the state of the art and future insights on the impact of optogenetics on regenerative medicine.

scholarly journals Methionine Diet Evoked Hyperhomocysteinemia Causes Hippocampal Alterations, Metabolomics Plasma Changes and Behavioral Pattern in Wild Type Rats

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4961
Author(s):  
Maria Kovalska ◽  
Eva Baranovicova ◽  
Dagmar Kalenska ◽  
Anna Tomascova ◽  
Marian Adamkov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Brain Area ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Cerebrovascular Diseases ◽  
Behavioral Pattern ◽  
Cell Physiology ◽  
Male Wistar Rats ◽  
High Level ◽  
Hippocampal Alterations ◽  
The Impact

L-methionine, an essential amino acid, plays a critical role in cell physiology. High intake and/or dysregulation in methionine (Met) metabolism results in accumulation of its intermediate(s) or breakdown products in plasma, including homocysteine (Hcy). High level of Hcy in plasma, hyperhomocysteinemia (hHcy), is considered to be an independent risk factor for cerebrovascular diseases, stroke and dementias. To evoke a mild hHcy in adult male Wistar rats we used an enriched Met diet at a dose of 2 g/kg of animal weight/day in duration of 4 weeks. The study contributes to the exploration of the impact of Met enriched diet inducing mild hHcy on nervous tissue by detecting the histo-morphological, metabolomic and behavioural alterations. We found an altered plasma metabolomic profile, modified spatial and learning memory acquisition as well as remarkable histo-morphological changes such as a decrease in neurons’ vitality, alterations in the morphology of neurons in the selective vulnerable hippocampal CA 1 area of animals treated with Met enriched diet. Results of these approaches suggest that the mild hHcy alters plasma metabolome and behavioural and histo-morphological patterns in rats, likely due to the potential Met induced changes in “methylation index” of hippocampal brain area, which eventually aggravates the noxious effect of high methionine intake.

scholarly journals Modulation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells by Electrical Stimulation Using an Enzymatic Biofuel Cell

Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Won-Yong Jeon ◽  
Seyoung Mun ◽  
Wei Beng Ng ◽  
Keunsoo Kang ◽  
Kyudong Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Regenerative Medicine ◽  
Cell Morphology ◽  
Electrical Current ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
The Impact

Enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs) have excellent potential as components in bioelectronic devices, especially as active biointerfaces to regulate stem cell behavior for regenerative medicine applications. However, it remains unclear to what extent EBFC-generated electrical stimulation can regulate the functional behavior of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAD-MSCs) at the morphological and gene expression levels. Herein, we investigated the effect of EBFC-generated electrical stimulation on hAD-MSC cell morphology and gene expression using next-generation RNA sequencing. We tested three different electrical currents, 127 ± 9, 248 ± 15, and 598 ± 75 nA/cm2, in mesenchymal stem cells. We performed transcriptome profiling to analyze the impact of EBFC-derived electrical current on gene expression using next generation sequencing (NGS). We also observed changes in cytoskeleton arrangement and analyzed gene expression that depends on the electrical stimulation. The electrical stimulation of EBFC changes cell morphology through cytoskeleton re-arrangement. In particular, the results of whole transcriptome NGS showed that specific gene clusters were up- or down-regulated depending on the magnitude of applied electrical current of EBFC. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that EBFC-generated electrical stimulation can influence the morphological and gene expression properties of stem cells; such capabilities can be useful for regenerative medicine applications such as bioelectronic devices.

scholarly journals Roles of Microglial Ion Channel in Neurodegenerative Diseases

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1239
Author(s):  
Alexandru Cojocaru ◽  
Emilia Burada ◽  
Adrian-Tudor Bălșeanu ◽  
Alexandru-Florian Deftu ◽  
Bogdan Cătălin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Excitable Cells ◽  
Proton Channels ◽  
Voltage Gated ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Pathological Conditions ◽  
The Common ◽  
Transient Receptor ◽  
The Impact

As the average age and life expectancy increases, the incidence of both acute and chronic central nervous system (CNS) pathologies will increase. Understanding mechanisms underlying neuroinflammation as the common feature of any neurodegenerative pathology, we can exploit the pharmacology of cell specific ion channels to improve the outcome of many CNS diseases. As the main cellular player of neuroinflammation, microglia play a central role in this process. Although microglia are considered non-excitable cells, they express a variety of ion channels under both physiological and pathological conditions that seem to be involved in a plethora of cellular processes. Here, we discuss the impact of modulating microglia voltage-gated, potential transient receptor, chloride and proton channels on microglial proliferation, migration, and phagocytosis in neurodegenerative diseases.

scholarly journals Robust Step Detection from Different Waist-Worn Sensor Positions: Implications for Clinical Studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-58
Author(s):  
Matthias  Tietsch ◽  
Amir Muaremi ◽  
Ieuan Clay ◽  
Felix Kluge ◽  
Holger Hoefling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Study ◽  
Clinical Studies ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Human Gait ◽  
Robust Solution ◽  
Step Detection ◽  
Study Protocols ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Analyzing human gait with inertial sensors provides valuable insights into a wide range of health impairments, including many musculoskeletal and neurological diseases. A representative and reliable assessment of gait requires continuous monitoring over long periods and ideally takes place in the subjects’ habitual environment (real-world). An inconsistent sensor wearing position can affect gait characterization and influence clinical study results, thus clinical study protocols are typically highly proscriptive, instructing all participants to wear the sensor in a uniform manner. This restrictive approach improves data quality but reduces overall adherence. In this work, we analyze the impact of altering the sensor wearing position around the waist on sensor signal and step detection. We demonstrate that an asymmetrically worn sensor leads to additional odd-harmonic frequency components in the frequency spectrum. We propose a robust solution for step detection based on autocorrelation to overcome sensor position variation (sensitivity = 0.99, precision = 0.99). The proposed solution reduces the impact of inconsistent sensor positioning on gait characterization in clinical studies, thus providing more flexibility to protocol implementation and more freedom to participants to wear the sensor in the position most comfortable to them. This work is a first step towards truly position-agnostic gait assessment in clinical settings.

scholarly journals Flexible Potentiometric Sensor System for Non-Invasive Determination of Antioxidant Activity of Human Skin: Application for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Phytocosmetic Products

Chemosensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Aleksey V. Tarasov ◽  
Ekaterina I. Khamzina ◽  
Maria A. Bukharinova ◽  
Natalia Yu. Stozhko
Keyword(s):  
Antioxidant Activity ◽  
Human Skin ◽  
Skin Diseases ◽  
Silver Chloride ◽  
Potentiometric Sensor ◽  
Sensor System ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Pet Film ◽  
The Impact

In contemporary bioanalysis, monitoring the antioxidant activity (AOA) of the human skin is used to assess stresses, nutrition, cosmetics, and certain skin diseases. Non-invasive methods for skin AOA monitoring have certain advantages over invasive methods, namely cost-effectiveness, lower labor intensity, reduced risk of infection, and obtaining results in the real-time mode. This study presents a new flexible potentiometric sensor system (FPSS) for non-invasive determination of the human skin AOA, which is based on flexible film electrodes (FFEs) and membrane containing a mediator ([Fe(CN)6]3–/4–). Low-cost available materials and scalable technologies were used for FFEs manufacturing. The indicator FFE was fabricated based on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film and carbon veil (CV) by single-sided hot lamination. The reference FFE was fabricated based on PET film and silver paint by using screen printing, which was followed by the electrodeposition of precipitate containing a mixture of silver chloride and silver ferricyanide (SCSF). The three-electrode configuration of the FPSS, including two indicator FFEs (CV/PET) and one reference FFE (SCSF/Ag/PET), has been successfully used for measuring the skin AOA and evaluating the impact of phytocosmetic products. FPSS provides reproducible (RSD ≤ 7%) and accurate (recovery of antioxidants is almost 100%) results, which allows forecasting its broad applicability in human skin AOA monitoring as well as for evaluating the effectiveness of topically and orally applied antioxidants.

scholarly journals Effect of Whole-Body Cryotherapy on Morphological, Rheological and Biochemical Indices of Blood in People with Multiple Sclerosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 2833
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Ptaszek ◽  
Aneta Teległów ◽  
Justyna Adamiak ◽  
Jacek Głodzik ◽  
Szymon Podsiadło ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Venous Blood ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Blood Indices ◽  
Rheological Indices ◽  
Whole Body Cryotherapy ◽  
The Impact

The aim of this study was to examine and assess the impact of a series of 20 whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) treatments on the biochemical and rheological indices of blood in people with multiple sclerosis. In this prospective controlled study, the experimental group consisted of 15 women aged 34–55 (mean age, 41.53 ± 6.98 years) with diagnosed multiple sclerosis who underwent a series of whole-body cryotherapy treatments. The first control group consisted of 20 women with diagnosed multiple sclerosis. This group had no intervention in the form of whole-body cryotherapy. The second control group consisted of 15 women aged 30–49 years (mean age, 38.47 ± 6.0 years) without neurological diseases and other chronic diseases who also underwent the whole-body cryotherapy treatment. For the analysis of the blood indices, venous blood was taken twice (first, on the day of initiation of whole-body cryotherapy treatments and, second, after a series of 20 cryotherapy treatments). The blood counts were determined using an ABX MICROS 60 hematological analyzer (USA). The LORCA analyzer (Laser–Optical Rotational Cell Analyzer, RR Mechatronics, the Netherlands) was used to study the aggregation and deformability of erythrocytes. The total protein serum measurement was performed using a Cobas 6000 analyzer, Roche and a Proteinogram-Minicap Sebia analyzer. Fibrinogen determinations were made using a Bio-Ksel, Chrom-7 camera. Statistically significant differences and changes after WBC in the levels of red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), elongation index, total extend of aggregation (AMP), and proteins (including fibrinogen) were observed. However, there was no significant effect of a series of 20 WBC treatments on changes in blood counts, rheology, and biochemistry in women with multiple sclerosis. Our results show that the use of WBC has a positive effect on the rheological properties of the blood of healthy women.

scholarly journals Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as a Tool to Investigate Motor Cortex Excitability in Sport

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 432
Author(s):  
Fiorenzo Moscatelli ◽  
Antonietta Messina ◽  
Anna Valenzano ◽  
Vincenzo Monda ◽  
Monica Salerno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Motor Cortex Excitability ◽  
Invasive Method ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

Transcranial magnetic stimulation, since its introduction in 1985, has brought important innovations to the study of cortical excitability as it is a non-invasive method and, therefore, can be used both in healthy and sick subjects. Since the introduction of this cortical stimulation technique, it has been possible to deepen the neurophysiological aspects of motor activation and control. In this narrative review, we want to provide a brief overview regarding TMS as a tool to investigate changes in cortex excitability in athletes and highlight how this tool can be used to investigate the acute and chronic responses of the motor cortex in sport science. The parameters that could be used for the evaluation of cortical excitability and the relative relationship with motor coordination and muscle fatigue, will be also analyzed. Repetitive physical training is generally considered as a principal strategy for acquiring a motor skill, and this process can elicit cortical motor representational changes referred to as use-dependent plasticity. In training settings, physical practice combined with the observation of target movements can enhance cortical excitability and facilitate the process of learning. The data to date suggest that TMS is a valid technique to investigate the changes in motor cortex excitability in trained and untrained subjects. Recently, interest in the possible ergogenic effect of non-invasive brain stimulation in sport is growing and therefore in the future it could be useful to conduct new experiments to evaluate the impact on learning and motor performance of these techniques.

scholarly journals Neurohospitalist Practice and Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 194187442110166
Author(s):  
Tarini Goyal ◽  
John C. Probasco ◽  
Carl A. Gold ◽  
Joshua P. Klein ◽  
Natalie R. Weathered ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Flexible Work ◽  
Cerebrovascular Events ◽  
Academic Settings ◽  
Emergency Neurology ◽  
Flexible Work Practices ◽  
The Impact ◽  
American Academy Of Neurology

Background and Purpose: Neurohospitalists play an important role in, and have been variably affected by, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we survey neurohospitalists to characterize practice changes and the impact of the pandemic on their well-being. Methods: A 22-item survey was distributed to neurohospitalists through the Neurohospitalist Society and the American Academy of Neurology Neurohospitalist, Stroke & Vascular Neurology, and Critical Care & Emergency Neurology Sections. Results: After 2 weeks of collection, 123 responses were received, with 57% of respondents practicing in academic settings, 23% in private practice, and 7% in community hospitals. A minority of neurohospitalists (8%) were redeployed to care for COVID-19 or non-COVID-19 medicine patients. The most common neurologic diagnoses they reported in COVID-19 patients were delirium (85%), cerebrovascular events (75%), and seizure (35%); however, most neurohospitalists (59%) had evaluated fewer than 10 patients with COVID-19. Respondents observed that fewer patients with unrelated neurological diseases were admitted to the hospital compared to before the pandemic. Neurohospitalists experienced changes in administrative (27%), educational (15%), and research duties (11%), and had overall worse well-being and work-life balance (77%). Conclusions: The most common neurologic diagnoses seen in COVID-19 patients by neurohospitalists in this sample are delirium, cerebrovascular disease, and seizure. Though the majority of survey respondents reported not being primary frontline providers, they report key clinical and operational roles during the pandemic, and report worse well-being as compared to before the pandemic. Our data suggests that there are opportunities to improve neurohospitalists’ experience through flexible work practices and providing family care support.

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