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Biology subjects

Bastian, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Bastian, C..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

MRI Guided Fresh Tissue Procurement in Radical Prostatectomy Specimens: An Evolutionary Paradigm

PurposeThe aim of this work is to assess the feasibility of novel targeted methods for fresh tissue procurement that facilitate accurate identification of lesion location and tissue sample extraction in an excised prostate gland, while minimizing the tissue deformation or damage. Methods and ResultsProposed fresh tissue procurement methods are based on utilizing a custom 3D printed patient-specific prostate mold. In the semi-freehand method, the access cut is guided by a set of markers on the bottom of the mold that define the boundary of a lesion in two orthogonal directions. The procurement site is identified by palpation. In the guided cut with-locator card method the procurement sites are identified by a cutout in the locator cards inserted into the access cuts. The two approaches were utilized to procure >50 samples. In the biopsy needle method guiding channels were designed into the prostate mold to procure fresh tissue. This method was used 4 times. Finally, a mixed-reality biopsy needle method was developed for phantom testing. ConclusionsPreliminary results of fresh tissue procurement utilizing novel methods showed improve precision of obtaining cancerous fresh tissue for molecular and genomic cancer research compared to current methods which rely on surgical estimation of lesion location.

bioengineering↗

Reversible loss of Hippocampal Function in a Mouse Model of Demyelination/Remyelination

Demyelination of axons in the central nervous system (CNS) is a hallmark of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other demyelinating diseases. Cycles of demyelination, followed by remyelination, appear in the majority of MS patients, and are associated with the onset and quiescence of disease-related symptoms, respectively. Previous studies have shown in human patients and animal models that vast demyelination is accompanied by wide-scale changes to brain activity, but details of this process are poorly understood. We use electrophysiological recordings and nonlinear imaging of fluorescence from genetically-encoded calcium indicators to monitor the activity of hippocampal neurons during demyelination and remyelination processes over a period of 100 days. We find in vitro that synaptic transmission in CA1 neurons is diminished, and in vivo both CA1 and dentate gyrus (DG) neuronal firing rates are substantially reduced during demyelination and partially recover after a short remyelination period. This new approach allows monitoring how synaptic transmission changes, induced by cuprizone diet, are affecting neuronal activity, and can potentially be used to study the effects of therapeutic interventions in protecting the functionality of CNS neurons.

neuroscience↗