Northwestern Events Calendar

Aug
13
2018

Dr. Roger Cornwall: A novel biological approach to childhood neuromuscular contractures

When: Monday, August 13, 2018
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CT

Where: Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Sky Lobby Auditorium A, 10th floor, 355 E. Erie, Chicago, IL 60611 map it

Audience: Faculty/Staff - Student - Public - Post Docs/Docs - Graduate Students

Cost: None

Contact: Tommi Raij, MD, PhD   (312) 238-4401

Group: Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Research Seminar Series

Category: Lectures & Meetings

Description:

Abstract

Neonatal brachial plexus injury (NBPI) is the most common cause of upper limb paralysis in children. NBPI causes severe shoulder and elbow contractures that are the primary driver of physical disability and need for surgical treatment. These contractures cannot be cured by existing therapies because the cause of these contractures is unknown. Through development of a mouse model of NBPI we discovered that contractures are caused by impaired longitudinal muscle growth, resulting from loss of normal nerve input during a critical neonatal window of muscle development. However, the mechanism of this impaired longitudinal muscle growth is unknown. Skeletal muscle growth involves two general processes: (1) addition of myonuclei to growing multinucleated myofibers (myonuclear accretion), and (2) protein synthesis within the myofibers. We have further demonstrated that contractures are not caused by impaired myonuclear accretion, raising the possibility that impaired growth results from altered protein synthesis. In the current study, we use our mouse model of NBPI to determine the dynamics of protein balance (synthesis versus degradation) in longitudinal muscle growth and contractures following neonatal denervation. In so doing, we outline the major mechanisms regulating longitudinal muscle growth and identify a novel pharmacologic strategy that prevents contractures by correcting dysregulated protein balance.

Speaker Info

Roger Cornwall, MD, is a full time pediatric hand and upper extremity surgeon and founder of the Hand and Upper Extremity Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Since beginning practice in 2004, he has become nationally known for his expertise in treating conditions that affect the pediatric upper extremity, including traumatic, congenital, and neuromuscular disorders. He also runs a basic science laboratory investigating the neurological control of postnatal muscle growth, aiming to develop novel physiological treatments for neuromuscular contractures. He completed his undergraduate education at Stanford University, medical school at Columbia, orthopaedic residency at Mount Sinai Hospital, hand surgery fellowship at Harvard, and pediatric orthopaedic surgery fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the ORS and multiple committees of the ASSH, POSNA, and AAOS.

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