Abstract (click to view)
A concussion is a traumatic injury that affects brain function. Although sports-related concussions are so common, the physiology of concussions is still not yet fully understood. Nonetheless, several types of research are focusing on this study to explain the physiology of concussion and identify possible biological markers. Since blood vessels in the brain behave similarly to those in the other parts of the body, one can further study the brain and the concussion by measuring the blood pressure and flow. With this idea, a research study has found nitric oxide (NO) as an important biological marker for concussion, indicating either possible inhibition or stimulation of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in our body. By incorporating this information into my project, I have performed Griess assay to measure nitrate and nitrite in blood samples extracted from SMU athletes who have experienced concussions.
Yujin Lisa Kim
Major: Biochemistry; Minor: Chinese
Faculty mentor: Alex Lippert
Lisa-
Great presentation and project. Well done.
Lisa, very nice presentation! This work definitely has real-world significance. So I guess you’re measuring the amount of NO metabolites rather than NO itself. Is measuring NO that difficult? If you’re measuring nitrate and nitrite levels, are there other sources of those species besides the metabolism of NO?