Comet Calendar

Neuroscience Seminar Series - First Year Presentation

Title: A Mechanistic Examination of Visceral Pain in Sickle Cell Disease

Speaker:
Salma Ashshareef
Student, UT Dallas

Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects approximately 100,000 individuals in the United States, and pain is the leading cause of patients’ SCD emergency room admission. Patients with SCD have red blood cells that are highly susceptible to sickling and are administered a variety of treatments such as early-life penicillin prophylaxis. The disease phenotypes and treatments result in various complications, especially chronic pain. Specifically, patients report visceral hypersensitivity, which is often overlooked in clinical settings due to the lack of thorough clinical examinations of abdominal pain. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the mechanisms underlying visceral hypersensitivity in SCD using a Townes mouse model that harbors human hemoglobin and imitates SCD in humans. Animal model studies thus far have established that SCD(SS) mice exhibit a mechanical hypersensitivity phenotype via hind paw von Frey testing. Furthermore, SCD animals did not demonstrate a visceral hypersensitivity phenotype when compared with controls (AA) using abdominal von Frey. However, current preliminary mechanical behavioral testing of SCD penicillin treated mice suggests a hypersensitivity phenotype when compared to non-treated SCD and control mice. These interesting results are currently being explored to help further develop our understanding of the underlying mechanisms that cause visceral hypersensitivity to progress towards possible improvements in the understanding of chronic pain in SCD which may aid in the development of better therapeutic strategies for patients with SCD.

On December 5, 2024 at 4:00 - 4:30PM
In-person in CRA 12.110.

This will also be available on MS Teams.
Meeting ID: 261 577 728 163
Passcode: ak9pw96y

CRA 12.110

Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Danielle Timmons
Email
972-883-2366

UTD strives to create inclusive and accessible events in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you require an accommodation to fully participate in this event, please contact the event coordinator (listed above) at least 10 business days prior to the event. If you have any additional questions, please email ADACoordinator@utdallas.edu and the AccessAbility Resource Center at accessability@utdallas.edu.

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