Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School

3 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Neuroscience

Analysis of Gene Expression Changes in the Rat Hippocampus After Deep Brain Stimulation of the Anterior Thalamic Nucleus

Tharakeswari Selvakumar¹, Kambiz N. Alavian², Travis Tierney¹

¹Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, ²Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London

The mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery needs investigation. The methods presented in this manuscript describe an experimental approach to examine the cellular events triggered by DBS by analyzing the gene expression profile of candidate genes that can facilitate neurogenesis post DBS surgery.

Neuroscience

Isolation, Culture and Long-Term Maintenance of Primary Mesencephalic Dopaminergic Neurons From Embryonic Rodent Brains

Maria Weinert¹, Tharakeswari Selvakumar², Travis S. Tierney², Kambiz N. Alavian^1,3

¹Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, ²Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, ³Department of Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, Yale University School of Medicine

The causes of degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic neurons during Parkinson’s disease are not fully understood. Cellular culture systems provide an essential tool for study of the neurophysiological properties of these neurons. Here we present an optimized protocol, which can be utilized for in vitro modeling of neurodegeneration.

Medicine

Imaging and Quantification of the Hepatic Vasculature of Mice Using Ultrafast Doppler Ultrasound

Katerina Stripling^1,2, Finn Timmermans^1,2, Sofiane Décombas-Deschamps³, Jérémy H. Thalgott^1,2, David Lemonnier^1,2,3, Margreet R. de Vries^2,4,5, Ton J. Rabelink^1,2,6, Mickael Tanter³, Thomas Deffieux³, Franck Lebrin^1,2,3

¹Department of Internal Medicine - Nephrology, Leiden University Medical Center, ²Einthoven Laboratory of Vascular and Regenerative Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, ³Institute Physics for Medicine Paris, Inserm, ESPCI-Paris-PSL, ⁴Department of Surgery - Vascular surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, ⁵Department of Surgery, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, ⁶The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW), Leiden University Medical Center

Ultrafast Doppler ultrasound (UFUS) with high spatial resolution (100 mm) and sensitivity represents a suitable noninvasive imaging modality for obtaining a comprehensive qualitative overview of the hepatic vasculature. UFUS also facilitates quantitative measurements of the microvasculature, aiming to enhance our understanding of vascular disease mechanisms.