Our group has shown that the polysaccharides extracted from Lycium barbarum (LBP) are neuroprotective for retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in different animal models. Protecting RGCs from secondary degeneration is a promising direction for therapy in glaucoma management. The complete optic nerve transection (CONT) model can be used to study primary degeneration of RGCs, while the partial optic ner...

PURPOSE In glaucoma, the optic nerve head (ONH) is the likely site of initial injury and elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the best-known risk factor. This study determines global gene expression changes in the pressure-injured ONH. METHODS Unilateral sustained IOP elevation (glaucoma, n = 46) or optic nerve transection (n = 10) was produced in rats. ONHs were removed, and the retrobulba...

BACKGROUND Partial transection (PT) of the optic nerve is an established experimental model of secondary degeneration in the central nervous system. After a dorsal transection, retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) with axons in ventral optic nerve are intact but vulnerable to secondary degeneration, whereas RGCs in dorsal retina with dorsal axons are affected by primary and secondary injuries. Using m...

Objective(s): To investigate the effect of topical administration of alpha-lipoic acid into chitosan conduit on peripheral nerve regeneration using a rat sciatic nerve transection model. Materials and Methods: Forty five Wistar rats were divided into three experimental groups randomly. A 10-mm gap of sciatic nerve was bridged with a chitosan conduit following surgical preparation and anesthesia...

This study used in vitro brainstem-spinal cord preparations from the American bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana, to examine the influence of central descending inputs on breathing pattern formation. In preparations with an episodic pattern of fictive breathing, a transection slightly caudal to the optic chiasma produced a continuous breathing pattern and increased the overall frequency of fictive brea...

Microglia are the resident phagocytic cells with various functions in the central nervous system, and the morphologies of microglia imply the different stages and functions. In optical nerve transection (ONT) model in the retina, the retrograde degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) induces microglial activations to a unique morphology termed "rod" microglia. A few studies described the ...

Activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is characterized by a diurnal rhythm with an AM nadir and PM peak. Splanchnic nerve transection disrupts the diurnal rhythm in plasma corticosterone; however, there is a controversy as to whether the nerve-mediated effect is 1) via inhibition in the AM vs. excitation in the PM, or 2) involves changes in adrenal sensitivity to ACTH. The present...

Taste buds are dependent on innervation for normal morphology and function. Fungiform taste bud degeneration after chorda tympani nerve injury has been well documented in rats, hamsters, and gerbils. The current study examines fungiform taste bud distribution and structure in adult C57BL/6J mice from both intact taste systems and after unilateral chorda-lingual nerve transection. Fungiform tast...

Upon noxious stimulation, substance P (SP) is released from primary afferent fibers into the spinal cord where it interacts with the SP receptor (SPR). The SPR is located throughout the dorsal horn and undergoes endocytosis after agonist binding, which provides a spatial image of SPR-containing neurons that undergo agonist interaction. Under normal conditions, SPR internalization occurs only in...

introduction: timely diagnosis and treatment of post traumatic, elevated intracranial pressure (eicp), could reduce morbidity and mortality, as well as improve patients’ outcome. this study is trying to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of sonographic optic nerve sheath diameter (onsd) in detection of eicp. methods: sonographic onsd of patients with head trauma or cerebrovascular accident suspic...