AnalyzeDirect Aging Effects in the Neocortical Organization of Chimpanzees
Normal aging entails many physical, biological, chemical, and psychological changes and, like the rest of the body, the brain changes with every passing year. Aging affects the brain size, vasculature, and cognition. Studies have shown that the volume of the brain and its weight decline with age at a rate of around 5% per decade after…
Micro-CT Monitoring of Orthopedic Implant Infections
Orthopedic implant infections represent a severe complication following surgical procedures. This type of infection occurs by bacterial contamination either during surgery or immediately thereafter and leads to persistent inflammation, osteomyelitis (infection of the bone) and eventual osteolysis of the bone (autoimmune reaction which causes resorption of bone tissue). Very often these responses ultimately result in implant…
Inducing Angiogenesis in Chronic Vascular Occlusion
Gene therapy and cell therapy belong to a novel therapeutic branch of modern medicine, the goals of which are repairing the direct cause of genetic diseases in the DNA and restoring damaged tissues or organs, respectively. In chronic vascular occlusion, stem cell therapy can be used to help regenerate myocardial tissues and return the contractile function of the…
Predicting Outcomes in Acute Ischemic Stroke
Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide according to the World Health Organization. A stroke involves the loss of brain function due to a disturbance in blood supply to the brain. It can be caused by either a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel in the brain (ischemic stroke) or a blood vessel that breaks and bleeds…
Hippocampal Volume Measurement and Memory Loss
Memory is a highly constructive cognitive process that takes place in our everyday lives and consists of encoding, storing and retrieving information. Our memory is not located in one particular place in the brain, but is instead a brain-wide process during which several different areas of the brain act in conjunction with one another. One of the areas that plays…
How Weight Gain Triggers Skeletal Muscle Remodeling
It is known that adipose tissue has a unique role in whole-body energy homeostasis and metabolic health due to its ability to expand and contract through adipocyte hypertrophy and atrophy. On the other hand, there is growing evidence that skeletal muscle may be affected by weight gain as well, since it is the main site…
Occipital Bending: the Physical Cause behind a Mental Health Disorder?
Brain asymmetry refers to the asymmetrical function and structure of the brain. Each hemisphere is specialized in certain tasks and specific areas process particular types of cognitive information. Structurally, the two halves of the human brain are slightly different, in fact some structures may be larger or smaller on one half of the brain than…
Plasma Copeptin Levels: a Biomarker of Renal Function
Copeptin is the C-terminal portion of the precursor of arginine vasopressin, a hormone involved in cyst growth in kidneys. This peptide is involved in renal pathways and function, and it is elevated in patients with the inherited autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, ADPKD. ADPKD often leads to the formation of cysts, as well as end…
Neural Networks in Utero: a Milestone in Fetal Development Timeline
The brain’s neural connectivity pattern is formed by structural links such as synapses or fiber pathways. Understanding brain connectivity is crucial to elucidating how neurons and neural networks process information and the establishment of these functional neural networks is one of the major stages of development of the human fetal brain. However, the developmental timetable…
How the Respiratory System in Mammals Adapts to Climate Conditions
The nasal cavity is one of the major structures of the upper respiratory tract. It is a large air-filled space above and behind the nose in the middle of the face and each cavity is the continuation of one of the two nostrils. The nasal cavity is considered to be essential in mammalian adaptations to various…