School of Medicine: Recent submissions
Now showing items 1-20 of 2337
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While YOU are a Patient in the University HospitalUniversity of Maryland Hospital otherwise known as University Hospital's patient pamphlet for 1955. Pamphlet provides details on what hospital patients can expect while receiving care.
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University of Maryland Hospital Patient HandbookUniversity of Maryland Hospital or University Hospital patient handbook with information about what the patient can expect from the hospital. It includes two inserts with hospital telephone numbers and information for visitors. Handbook includes a map of the area around Baltimore and an interior map of the first floor of the hospital.
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Neuromuscular Junction Morphology as a Biomarker for Therapeutic Efficacy in Myasthenia GravisThe neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a complex synaptic structure linking the motor nerve to individual skeletal muscle fibers for the regulation of voluntary contraction. Alterations in post-synaptic NMJ morphology are linked to muscle contractile deficits in various pathological conditions (e.g., muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, traumatic nerve injury) as well as in aging. In autoimmune mediated Myasthenia Gravis (MG), NMJ morphology is altered by the immunologic degradation of the acetylcholine receptors (AchR’s) and the secondary effects of inflammation. Our work is focused developing NMJ morphology as a biomarker for the progression of muscle dysfunction in a rat model of MG. Our current goals are to establish high throughput approaches for (1) confocal imaging the NMJ (bungarotoxin labeled AchR’s) and motor nerve/presynaptic structure (SV2 and neurofilament) in histological samples (2) establishing an image analysis pipeline in Nikon Elements to quantify pre- and post-synaptic NMJ morphology. The completion of these goals will establish the NMJ as a biomarker for quantifying the efficacy therapeutic interventions developed to treat MG.
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CARTI: Center for Advanced Research Training & Innovation Newsletter 2023University of Maryland, Baltimore. School of Medicine, 2023
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A pair of AkhR cardiac neurons mediate high-fat diet-induced heart arrhythmiaHeart arrhythmia is associated with metabolic diseases. Drosophila melanogaster has proven to be an excellent model to study the correlation between heart arrhythmia and metabolic defects. We used high-fat diet (HFD)-fed flies to investigate its metabolic effect on heart function and found that HFD increased the heartbeat and induced arrhythmia. HFD up-regulated the expression of Adipokinetic hormone (Akh), the functional equivalent of human glucagon. Down-regulating Akh in the Akh producing cells (APCs) rescued the heart defects caused by HFD. Furthermore, we found that the Akh receptor, AkhR, mediates the pathogenic effects of HFD on the heart. Strikingly, two neurons, which are located in the posterior abdomen and are closely associated with the heart, expressed high levels of AkhR. These two neurons form synapses on the heart muscles and control the heartbeat. This finding of an APC-heart axis and the cardiac neurons paves the way for further investigation into heartbeat and heart arrhythmia using Drosophila.