Neurology Research

KEY FINDING: MMP-9 is elevated early after injury and is associated with blood-brain barrier disruption and inflammation, while MMP-2 is upregulated later and involved in wound healing.

KEY FINDING: Removing extracellular inhibitory activities is insufficient for successful axon regeneration in the adult CNS.

KEY FINDING: Iskandar et al. found that after injury to somatosensory axons in rodents, there was an increase in the expression of the α-isoform of folate receptor 1 (FOLR1).

KEY FINDING: Spinal cord and peripheral nerve injury induces the expression of the high-affinity folate receptor Folr1, but not the low-affinity reduced folate carrier Rfc1.

KEY FINDING: Mice lacking N-acetylglucosamine 6-O-sulfotransferase-1 (GlcNAc6ST-1), and thus deficient in keratan sulfate, exhibit significantly better motor function recovery after spinal cord injury, as measured by footfall tests, footprint tests, and Basso mouse scale locomotor scoring.

KEY FINDING: NSCs are defined as undifferentiated cells that can both self-renew and generate the three major cell types that constitute the CNS, i.e. neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, a characteristic known as multipotency.

KEY FINDING: IgG can modulate the immune response by inducing apoptosis in leukocytes, neutralizing components of the complement system, and inhibiting the activation of leukocytes.

KEY FINDING: Regenerated giant RS axons produced very few synapses compared to control axons, particularly within and distal to the lesion scar.

KEY FINDING: Enlargement of intact motor units (MUs) by sprouting was effective in compensating for up to 80% loss of innervation.

KEY FINDING: Axon guidance molecules, initially important for neural development, are also present in the mature CNS, influencing network refinement, neuronal excitability, and synaptic function.