Award Data

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It has been recently shown that CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes are critically involved in the collateral brain injury and neurological deficit associated with experimental stroke. Naturally occurring CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ (nTreg) cells derived from thymus play a key role in modulating the function of effector T cells and antigen- presenting cells that maintain self tole ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS) are a family of rare autoinflammatory diseases of which neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease (NOMID) is the most severe phenotype. NOMID is characterized by NLRP3 activating mutations resulting in excessive interleukin- 1?IL-1?and IL-18 production associated with recurrent fever, rash, skeletal lesions, ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Noise is the most common occupational and environmental hazard, thus it is not surprising that noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the second most common form of sensorineural hearing deficit, second only to age-related hearing loss (presbycusis). Although therapeutics that target the free radical pathway have shown promise for reducing NIHL, there are no FDA- ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cardiopoietic cell therapy significantly improved left ventricular function, blunted pathological remodeling, and functional outcomes in animal models and Phase I/II clinical trial of heart failure patients. There is ongoing Phase III trial. In this therapeutic approach, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells are engaged into cardiac stem cells by exposing ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The main objective of this SBIR Phase I research is to develop and test a software prototype. The prototype will lead to a software product. It will be a clinical tool that helps clinicians to assess the condition of pa tients who are at risk of or who have diabetic neuropathy. The software will analyze optically sectioned images of subbasal nerve fiber layers ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a deadly lung disease that affects an estimated 133,000 patients in the U.S. and more than 5 million worldwide. Median survival time after diagnosis is only 2-3 years, with a 5-year mortality rate exceeding 50%. IPF is the leading indication for lung transplant in most large treatment centers. The hallmark of the disease i ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is the result of a blood clot in a cerebral artery. It remains a leading killer and the leading cause of long-term disabilit, annually impacting over 700,000 Americans [10]. Because brain tissue rapidly dies, time to reperfusion is critical in both preventing death and improving neurological outcomes. While current annual costs relat ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Human apyrase represents a highly promising therapy for inhibition of cancer metastasis. The enzyme strongly inhibits platelet activation and aggregation without increasing bleeding risk. Using a protein informatics app roach, we have successfully engineered an optimized human apyrase, APT102. With the Phase I grant support, we will determine whether APT102, al ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Diabetes mellitus afflicts 20.8 million people, or 7% of the population, in the United States. Fifteen percent, or 2.4 million people, will develop diabetic foot ulcers in their life time. Diabetic foot ulceration and i nfections are a major cause of hospitalization of diabetic patients. The direct and indirect costs of ulcer management and treatment exceed 10 ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Modified ribonucleic acids (RNA) are important regulators of translation and other cellular pathways. Non- coding RNAs like microRNAs play significant roles in neuronal development, and can serve as biomarkers for psychiatric disorders. Another such modified RNA is circular RNA (circRNA), a non-coding transcript present in the cytoplasm. Since circRNAs are pres ...