Adeno-associated Vectors (AAVs) as a Genetic Therapy for Individuals with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Magdalyn Snyder Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) results from a frameshift or nonsense mutation in the DMD gene found on the X chromosome, which encodes dystrophin (a 427-kDa cytoskeletal protein). Dystrophin plays a crucial role in skeletal and cardiac muscle and individuals with DMD experience progressive muscle weakness resulting in…
Engineering Medicine Featured Abstracts Neuroscience

How the Absence of the SHANK3 Scaffolding Protein Indicates Relation to Autism Spectrum Disorder Behaviors

Jenna Sturgeon Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests as abnormal cognitive deficits including impaired executive dysfunction, atypical perception and information processing, altered social cognition and repetitive behaviors and interests.1 ASD is influenced by both genetic mutations and environmental factors. ASD is known to co-occur with…
Featured Abstracts Neuroscience

Parsing out the Paradoxical Effect of Deep Brain Stimulation on Memory

Robert Mcmanus Background:  Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a well-established tool in functional neurosurgery with several FDA-cleared indications. Given its established safety profile and growing market, repurposing DBS for cognitive decline is a promising therapy. However, the literature on DBS for cognitive decline is limited and has obtained mixed results.…
Engineering Medicine Featured Abstracts Neuroscience

Investigating TREM2 antibody, AL002: A Novel Humanized Monoclonal Antibody (mAb) as Future Therapy for Alzheimer’s Pathogenesis

Neha Mithani Background: The modulation of the TREM2 pathway holds promise as a therapeutic strategy across various neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD)1. TREM2, predominantly expressed in microglia2, plays a pivotal role in regulating immune responses and phagocytosis in the central nervous system (CNS)4,. Dysregulation of this pathway has been…
Neuroscience

Retinal Biomarkers for the Early Screening of Alzheimer’s Disease

Rohan Gupta Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive, irreversible neurodegenerative disease and is the leading cause of dementia in individuals over 65.1 The hallmarks of AD are extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tau (NFT). Typically, AD presents with a wide range of symptoms, which often begin as…
Engineering Medicine Featured Abstracts Neuroscience

Possible Non-Anesthetic Use of Propofol in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Kent Yamamoto Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe psychiatric disorder that develops in the months and years following exposure to severe trauma.1 Current treatment for PTSD includes pharmacotherapies with serotonin reuptake inhibitors and psychotherapies in the form of exposure-based treatment.1 Serotonergic, dopaminergic, and noradrenergic antidepressants and/or anxiolytic medications…
Featured Abstracts Neuroscience

Exploring Sacral Spinal Nerve Root Stimulation (SNS) to Induce Defecation for Managing Autonomic Dysfunction (AD) and Associated Sequelae in Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)

Mariana Tostado Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition characterized by sensory, motor, or autonomic dysfunction below the level of injury, affecting 250,00 to 500,000 individuals per year1. SCI typically arises from traumatic events including motor vehicle accidents, falls, sports injuries, or acts of violence1. Individuals sustaining SCI…
Featured Abstracts Neuroscience