From the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine…

January 2024 Research Highlights reported by the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine.

 

Amanpreet Cheema, PhD is tackling health consequences associated with Complex Multisymptom Illnesses (CMI) by revolutionizing treatment and minimizing the harmful effects. She received funding to collaborate on a national study investigating low glutamate diet as treatment for Gulf War Illness (NCT05675878). Glutamate, an excitotoxin is released as a downstream event post war related neurotoxin exposure and together with oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation can form a self-perpetuating neurotoxic triad. Dr. Cheema, in collaboration with internationally renowned Nancy Klimas, MD, and others, has four other Department of Defense-Congressionally directed Medical Research Program (DoD-CDMRP) funded Phase II clinical trials and three pilot studies underway. She mechanistically explores carefully selected bioactive agents (nutraceuticals and supplements), and dietary interventions to correct the underlying biology involved in CMI associated symptoms (individual/cluster).

 

Dr. Cheema co-authored Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Health professional’s Guide to Dietary Supplements handbook. https://www.eatrightstore.org/product-type/books/health-professionals-guide-to-dietary-supplements.

 

 

Ray Ownby, MD, PhD

Rosemary Davenport, APRN

Ray Ownby, MD, PhD, and Rosemary Davenport, APRN, published results of the first study completed at the Center for Brain Health in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. It is the first study completed in the Center’s offices in the Center for Collaborative Research on the Davie campus of NSU, and provided data that supported two external grant applications. The report, titled “An Online Shared Decision-making Intervention for Dementia Prevention: A Parallel-group Randomized Pilot Study,” appears ahead of print in the journal Current Alzheimer Research.

Dr. Ownby also announces the availability of an eBook summarizing the cognitive behavioral shared decision-making model for brain health on which the study is based. It can be downloaded at no cost at www.cogstim.com, where interested users can also sign up for the Center’s monthly brain health newsletter.

 

 

Kempuraj Duraisamy, MS, MPhil, PhD has been investigating acute and chronic neuroimmune and neuroinflammatory responses in neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), dementia, traumatic brain injury (TBI)/neurotrauma, Long-COVID, Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), Gulf War Illness (GWI), and biomarker discovery for these disorders. Dr. Duraisamy reported the role of mast cells, proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, and neurotoxic molecules in AD, PD and TBI in the brains of human patients, US Army military personnel, animal models of neurodegenerative diseases, and by using cell culture disease models. Dr. Duraisamy reported changes/damage to the neurovascular unit and blood-brain barrier dysfunctions in these neurodegenerative disorders and evaluated neurotherapeutics. His research specialty also includes the development of human primary mast cells from human umbilical cord-blood derived hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, evaluation of mast cell activation associated diseases, and inhibition of mast cell activation by anti-inflammatory and other drugs including natural compounds/senolytics. Dr. Duraisamy has published 158 research articles and presented over 250 scientific abstracts at national and international conferences. These studies were funded by the Department of Defense (DOD), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Veterans Affairs. Additionally, Dr. Duraisamy is currently analyzing T cells, B cells, Natural Killer (NK cells) cells, cytokines and chemokines in the blood of the above-mentioned disease patients in our INIM diagnostic and research laboratory headed by Dr. Nancy Klimas.

PubMed Bibliography/Full List of Publications

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1n1GvvxUz6sQ0/bibliography/public/

 

List of publications in Scientific Journals in 2023

  1. Kempuraj D, Aenlle KK, Cohen J, Mathew A, Isler D, Pangeni RP, Nathanson L, Theoharides TC, Klimas NG. COVID-19 and Long COVID: Disruption of the Neurovascular Unit, Blood-Brain Barrier, and Tight Junctions. 2023 Sep 11:10738584231194927. doi: 10.1177/10738584231194927. PMID: 37694571.

 

  1. Kempuraj D, Zhang E, Gupta S, Gupta RC, Sinha NR, Mohan RR.  Carbofuran pesticide toxicity to the eye. Exp Eye Res. 2023 Feb;227:109355. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2022.109355. Epub 2022 Dec 23. PMID: 36572166.

 

  1. Bhend ME, Kempuraj D, Sinha NR, Gupta S, Mohan RR. Role of aquaporins in corneal healing post chemical injury. Exp Eye Res. 2023 Mar;228:109390. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2023.109390. Epub 2023 Jan 22. PMID: 36696947.
  2. Theoharides TC, Kempuraj D. Potential Role of Moesin in Regulating Mast Cell Secretion. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jul 28;24(15):12081. doi: 10.3390/ijms241512081. PMID: 37569454.

 

  1. Theoharides TC, Kempuraj D. Role of SARS-CoV-2 Spike-Protein-Induced Activation of Microglia and Mast Cells in the Pathogenesis of Neuro-COVID. 2023 Feb 22;12(5):688. doi: 10.3390/cells12050688. PMID: 36899824.

 

  1. Theoharides TC, Perlman AI, Twahir A, Kempuraj D. Mast cell activation: beyond histamine and tryptase. Expert Rev Clin Immunol. 2023 Jun;19(6):639-654. doi:10.1080/1744666X.2023.2200936. Epub 2023 Apr 14. PMID: 37029958.

 

  1. Theoharides TC, Twahir A, Kempuraj D. Mast cells in the autonomic nervous system and potential role in disorders with dysautonomia and neuroinflammation. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2023 Nov 10:S1081-1206(23)01397-2. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2023.10.032. PMID: 37951572.

 

  1. Theoharides TC, Twahir A, Kempuraj D. Mast cells in the autonomic nervous system and potential role in disorders with dysautonomia and neuroinflammation. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2023 Nov 10:S1081-1206(23)01397-2. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2023.10.032. PMID: 37951572.

 

 Select Academic and Professional Activities in 2023

  1.  Guest Editor: Guest edited a special issue in the Journals – Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, and   Frontiers in Drug Delivery on the topic “Blood-Brain Barrier Modulation and Dysfunction in Brain Diseases”, in 2023. https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/51767/15-years-of-frontiers-in-cellular-neuroscience-blood-brain-barrier-modulation-and-dysfunction-in-brain-diseases

 

  1. Participated in NIH Grant Review Meeting: NIH grant review meeting for the study section “Brain Injury and Neurovascular Pathologies (BINP)” – Brain Disorders and Clinical Neuroscience Integrated Review Group, Washington DC. June 20 – 21, 2023.