Huang, Mingxia PHD

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Neurovascular unit dysfunction in Down syndrome revealed by TBI

Huang, MingxiaPotter, HuntingtonSullivan, Kelly D

Many of the neurological conditions that co-occur in people with Down syndrome (DS) arise from brain cell alterations that are subtle and progressive in nature, making their categorical detection a challenge for researchers and clinicians. We postulate that the DS brain is predisposed to traumatic brain injury (TBI)-induced acute and long-term disabilities based on our findings that a mouse model of DS is hypersensitive to a single mild TBI and exhibits long-term impairment. This transformative research project aims to use mild TBI as a sensitizing probe to visualize the subtle and hard-to-detect DS-associated cellular and molecular alterations with the overarching goal of discovering new therapeutic strategies for people with DS.