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Ph.D. (1969)
University of Rochester
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Shirley
A. Joseph
Professor of Surgery
Primary Appointment:
Neurological Surgery
GEBS Cluster Affiliations:
NS
- Neuroscience
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Research:
Neurochemical reorganization in the Epileptic Brain |
Contact Information:
E-Mail: shirley_joseph@urmc.rochester.edu |
University of Rochester
School of Medicine and Dentistry
601 Elmwood Ave, Box 603
Rochester, New York 14642
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Medical Center [room]
Phone: (716) [tele]
Fax: (716) [number] |
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Research
Overview
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| The hippocampus is an area of temporal lobe cortex
which is important in the acquisition of memory and cognitive
abilities in humans. Neuronal degeneration in the hippocampus
occurs in numerous pathological conditions such as Alzheimer's
disease, focal brain ischemia and complex partial seizures.
Temporal lobe Epilepsy (TLE) is a type of complex partial seizures
which becomes manifest in the hippocampal formation and other
mesial temporal lobe structures and is characterized by sudden
recurrent and transient disturbances of mental function or movements
of the body. These typical manifestations are associated with
excessive neural discharges . The cause of Epilepsy as a disorder
is presently unknown. In collaboration with investigators in
the Comprehensive Epilepsy program we are analyzing human brain
tissue which is responsible for the epileptic manifestations
in order to research possible causes for aberrant discharges
which become the physiologic hallmark of the disorder. Surgical
intervention with the removal of the hippocampus and the surrounding
neocortex is the only known cure for patients with intractable
TLE. Our current studies employ immunocytochemistry and in situ
hybridization analysis to study seizure induced excitotoxicity
which results from the enhanced action of the transmitter and
its receptor. It is presumed that the enhanced neurotransmission,
originally caused by the excess influx of calcium, leads to
a possible calcium buildup in the neuron , neuronal excitation,
exhaustion, damage and more cell death. This 'glutamate cascade'
and its neurobiological consequences with specific focus on
neuroanatomical aberrations in the neurochemical signatures
of specific regions of the human and rat brain which regulate
the onset and pathology of epilepsy are the subject of our continued
studies. |
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Recent Publications
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- Prasad, AV, Pilcher, W.H., and Joseph, S.A.,
- Nuclear factor-Kappa B in rat brain: Enhanced DNA-binding
activity following convulsant-induced seizures. Neuroscience
Letters 170:145-148,1994
- Tassorelli, C. and Joseph, S.A.
- NADPH-diaphorase activity and fos expression in brain
nuclei following nitroglycerine administration. Brain Research
695: 37-44, 1995
- Lynd-Balta, E., Pilcher, W.H., and Joseph S.A.,
- Distribution of AMPA receptor subunits in the hippocampal
formation of temporal lobe epilepsy. Neuroscience 72(1):
15-29, 1996
- Joseph, Shirley A. Cristina Tassorelli, Adapa V. Prasad
and Eileen Lynd-Balta,
- NF-kappa B Transcription factor subunits in rat brain:
Colocalization of p65 and alpha-MSH. Peptides 17 (4) : 655-664.
1996
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