Aruna Sharma
Uppsala University, Sweden
Biography
Aruna Sharma is the Secretary of Research International Experimental Central Nervous System (CNS) Injury & Repair (IECNSIR), currently working at Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala University, Sweden. She is a qualified Experimental Neurpathologist with training at Karl Marx University, Leipzig (1987-1988); Semmelweis University Medical School, Budapest (1988-1989), Free University Berlin, (1989-1991) and Neuropathology Institute Uppsala (1992-1995). She is focused on traditional Indian/Chinese medicinal drugs on the central nervous system function, toxicology, neurorepair and neuroprotection using nanotechnology. She earned the Top 15 Technology Award of 2016 at Global Innovation Summit & Showcase on her recent innovation on, “Neuroprotective effects of Nanowired delivery of cerebrolysin together with alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone (a-MSH) in concussive head injury in sleep deprivation”, US Government, Washington DC, May 22-25, 2016. She has published over 140 original research papers in reputed neuroscience journals with an H-index of 19 (ISI database, 143 citations) as of today.
Abstract
Military personnel are often exposed to high summer heat resulting in heat stroke (HS) resulting in serious mental and physical consequences due to blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown, edema formation and brain pathologies. In this innovation, we used TiO2 nanowired EGb-761 and BN-52021 to treat HS induced brain pathologies in model experiments. Rats were exposed to two hour HS daily for eight days in a biological oxygen demand (BOD) incubator that does not induce brain pathology. On the eighth day, the animals were subjected to a four hour additional HS, and brain pathology was examined. These animals exhibited profound BBB leakage to Evans blue and [131]-Iodine, brain edema 2–4-fold higher neuronal damages as compared sham treated naïve rats. Treatment with EGb-761 (50 mg/kg, p.o.) with BN-52021 (2 mg/kg, p.o.) daily, for five days reduced brain damage by 20 to 30% in HS. However, when TiO2 nanowired EGb-761 or TiO2 BN-52021 were administered in identical doses, more than 80% reduction in brain pathology was observed in HS. The functional outcome e.g., walking on a tilted mesh grid (45°C), staying on a Rota-Rod treadmill (16 r.p.m.) and finding placing of forepaw on a wire mesh were significantly improved by nanodelivery of EGb-761 and BN-52021. These observations suggest that nanodelivery of EGb-761 and BN-52021 in HS has a potential therapeutic value that requires further investigation.