Neurological issues
Andrea Utley in Motor Control, Learning and Development, 2018
The main function of the spinal cord is to act as an interface between the brain and the PNS. The spinal cord comprises both gray and white matter. The gray matter of the spinal cord consists mostly of cell bodies and dendrites. The surrounding white matter is made up of nerve fibers which are bundled together to form tracts that carry information up and down the spinal cord. Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves, part of the PNS, emerge from the spinal cord. Each nerve has a dorsal root, which carries afferent sensory information to the brain, and a ventral root, which carries efferent or motor information from the brain. The ventral root mostly comprises the axons of alpha motor neurons, whose cell bodies are located in the anterior part of the spinal cord. The dorsal root comprises both the axons of the sensory neurons and their cell bodies, which are clustered together to form the dorsal root ganglion. In addition to carrying electrical impulses to and from the brain, the spinal cord is also involved in reflexes that do not immediately involve the brain; these are often referred to as ‘non-conscious’ spinal reflexes (Latash, 1998).
Regenerative Medicine in Pain Management
Sahar Swidan, Matthew Bennett in Advanced Therapeutics in Pain Medicine, 2020
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are enzymes that are capable of degrading extracellular matrix proteins and can process a number of bioactive molecules. MMPs play a major role in neuroinflammation and pain through the division and suppression of extracellular matrix proteins, cytokines, and chemokines.34 Nerve injury-induced changes in the dorsal root ganglion are responsible for neuropathic pain.35 MMP-9, produced by injured dorsal root ganglions, provokes spinal microglia activation and neuropathic pain development due to MMP-9 pathophysiology, including IL-1 beta cleavage and microglia p38 activation in early-phase neuropathic pain. MMP-2 activation leads to late-phase neuropathic pain via IL-1 beta cleavage and astrocyte ERK activation.35 Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP) suppress neuropathic pain. TIMP-1 diminishes early-phase neuropathic pain, while TIMP-2 diminishes late-phase neuropathic pain.35
Degenerative Diseases of the Nervous System
Philip B. Gorelick, Fernando D. Testai, Graeme J. Hankey, Joanna M. Wardlaw in Hankey's Clinical Neurology, 2020
Nervous system: Dorsal root ganglia: degeneration/loss of large sensory neurons.Dying back of axons in: Large myelinated sensory nerve fibers in peripheral nerves.Posterior columns of the spinal cord.Nucleus gracilis and cuneatus, and the medial lemniscus.Dorsal and ventral spinocerebellar tracts.Corticospinal tracts: demyelination, with increasing involvement caudally.Cerebellum: Loss of Purkinje's cells (Figures 16.78, 16.79).Degeneration of dentate nucleus.Axonal loss and demyelination of superior cerebellar peduncles.
Roles of CaMKIIβ in the neurotoxicity induced by ropivacaine hydrochloride in dorsal root ganglion
Published in Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 2019
Xianjie Wen, Yiqun Li, Xingqing Liu, Can Sun, Jinbing Lin, Wenli Zhang, Yabin Wu, Xiaoping Wang
The protocols for the animal use were approved by the Ethics Committee of Affiliated Foshan Hospital of the Southern medical University. One-day-old SD rats (Animal Laboratory Center, the Southern Medical University of China) were anaesthetized with ketamine. Spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia were exposed. Dorsal root ganglia were separated from the intervertebral foramen. After separation, dorsal root ganglia were moved into 15 ml centrifugal tube for digestion with 0.125% trypsin at 37 °C for 20 min. After digestion, the dorsal root ganglia were added to neurobasal medium (containing 4.5 g/L-glucose, 2 mmol/L-glutamine, 1% FBS, 20 ml/L-27 additive, 10 μg/ml NGF, penicillin 100 U/ml, streptomycin 100 μg/ml) and filtered by 400 mesh stainless steel mesh. The cell suspension was inoculated into the cell culture plate. The cell density was 1–2 × 105/ml. After 48 h of incubation at 37 °C and 5% CO2 incubator, the cell culture medium was replaced and 5 mM cytarabine was added to inhibit the proliferation of non-neuron cells. After 96 h, the cell suspension was replaced by cytarabin-free culture medium. The medium was changed every 3 days.
Advanced methods of spinal stimulation in the treatment of chronic pain: pulse trains, waveforms, frequencies, targets, and feedback loops
Published in Expert Review of Medical Devices, 2019
Ankit Maheshwari, Jason E. Pope, Timothy R. Deer, Steven Falowski
The dorsal root ganglion houses primary sensory neurons of all modalities. It has been identified as an important site of aberrant activity in neuropathic pain. Electrical stimulation of the dorsal root ganglion has a potential to reduce neuronal excitability as well as modulating ectopic discharges. Since the time of our last review, there has been an increase in the application of dorsal root ganglion stimulation and clinical outcome studies have demonstrated its effectiveness for numerous chronic neuropathic pain conditions such as complex regional pain syndrome, post-herniorrhaphy groin pain, radicular pain (Table 6). Typically, this modality has been used for the treatment of distal neuropathic pain conditions which, in the past have been hard to treat with dorsal column stimulation.
Long-term follow-up results of surgically treated patients with foraminal and far lateral disc herniations
Published in British Journal of Neurosurgery, 2023
Huseyin Dogu, Nuriye Guzin Ozdemir, Hakan Yilmaz, Ibrahim Burak Atci
Far lateral disc herniations compose 7–12% of all disc herniations. Foraminal, intraforaminal, far lateral or extreme lateral disc herniations are included in the far lateral disc herniation group.1 However, far lateral disc herniation is a term generally used for lumbar disc herniations that compress the exiting nerve root at the same level, lateral to the neural foramen or further.2 The exiting dorsal root ganglion at the same level is affected.3 The diagnosis may be overlooked if one does not investigate the patient’s findings meticulously. Surgical technique requires using a relatively unusual route compared to classic approach for mediolateral discs, however the outcome is highly satisfactory. Series reporting long-term follow-up for foraminal and far lateral discs are few, and also there are not large series to observe the recurrences and outcome.4
Related Knowledge Centers
- Axon
- Central Nervous System
- Peripheral Nervous System
- Somatosensory System
- Spinal Nerve
- Brain
- Ganglion
- Neuron
- Dorsal Root of Spinal Nerve
- Afferent Nerve Fiber