Does acute injury in the peripheral nervous system trigger an alternative macrophage response?
We here demonstrate that acute peripheral nerve injury triggers an inherent protective environment by inducing the M2 phenotype of macrophages and the expression of arginase-1. We believe that the M2 phenotype, associated with a sterile inflammatory response and tissue repair, might explain their neuroprotective capacity. As such, shifting the neurodegeneration-induced immune responses towards an M2/Th2 response could be an important therapeutic strategy.
Optical spectroscopy may be useful to identify breast tissue at increased risk of cancer development and track changes over time, particularly in young women where exposure to radiation is of particular concern. Additional work is needed to confirm the observed breast tissue differences and to determine the specific tissue chromophore changes with age and parity.