Erin Kaiser
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For the first time, researchers in the University of Georgia’s Regenerative Bioscience Center have used an imaging method normally reserved for humans to analyze brain activity in live agricultural swine models. They have discovered that pig brains are even better platforms than previously thought for the study of human neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.…
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Neural stem cells (NSCs) have demonstrated multimodal therapeutic function for stroke, which is the leading cause of long-term disability and the second leading cause of death worldwide. In preclinical stroke models, NSCs have been shown to modulate inflammation, foster neuroplasticity and neural reorganization, promote angiogenesis, and act as a cellular replacement by differentiating into mature…
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The heterogeneity of TBI coupled with the lack of comprehensive, standardized scales to adequately characterize multiple types of TBI remain to be major challenges facing effective therapeutic development. A systems level approach to TBI diagnosis through the use of metabolomics could lead to a better understanding of cellular changes post-TBI and potential therapeutic targets. In…
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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major contributor of long-term disability and a leading cause of death worldwide. A series of secondary injury cascades can contribute to cell death, tissue loss, and ultimately to the development of functional impairments. However, there are currently no effective therapeutic interventions that improve brain outcomes following TBI. As a…
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Human neural stem cell extracellular vesicles improve recovery in a porcine model of ischemic stroke
Recent work from our group suggests that human neural stem cell-derived extracellular vesicle (NSC EV) treatment improves both tissue and sensorimotor function in a preclinical thromboembolic mouse model of stroke. In this study, NSC EVs were evaluated in a pig ischemic stroke model, where clinically relevant end points were used to assess recovery in a…
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Stroke is the leading cause of disability in the United States but current therapies are limited with no regenerative potential. Previous translational failures have highlighted the need for large animal models of ischemic stroke and for improved assessments of functional outcomes. The aims of this study were first, to create a post-stroke functional outcome assessment…
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Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem cells (iNSCs) have significant potential as an autologous, multifunctional cell therapy for stroke, which is the primary cause of long term disability in the United States and the second leading cause of death worldwide. Here we show that iNSC transplantation improves recovery through neuroprotective, regenerative, and cell replacement mechanisms…
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The pig is the large animal model of choice for study of nerve regeneration and wound repair. Availability of porcine sensory neural cells would conceptually allow for analogous cell-based peripheral nerve regeneration in porcine injuries of similar severity and size to those found in humans. After recently reporting that porcine induced pluripotent stem cells differentiate…
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Efforts to develop stroke treatments have been met with limited success despite an intense need to produce novel treatments. The failed translation of many of these therapies in clinical trials has lead to a close examination of the therapeutic development process. One of the major factors believed to be limiting effective screening of these treatments…
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The present study in Physiology & Behavior evaluated a gait analysis system to study motor function in pig model, determined key gait parameters for assessing normal pig movement, and demonstrated significant changes over time in gait parameters post-stroke. These results support that post-stroke gait analysis is a highly sensitive detection method for dynamic changes in…
Posted in: Publications