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Investigating the role of cognitive status on a brief psychological intervention post-stroke

Obesity and advanced maternal age at labor are becoming increasingly more common and are clinically relevant as they are associated with a higher risk of complications during labor and the need for Caesarean section.
The background to this research comes from previous studies carried out here in Galway.Altered uterine contractile performance is associated with maternal obesity and advanced maternal age. Previous research conducted in Galway used various stereological methods to assess whether the anatomy of the myometrium in pregnancy is altered with respect to maternal Body Mass Index (BMI), age or parity. Stereological techniques were coupled with light and electron microscopy and utilizing lectin histochemistry and immuno-fluorescence. The parameters estimated included: muscle and extracellular matrix content, vascularity measures, cell and nuclear size, and intracellular features including dense bodies, dense plaques, connexion 43 proteins, mitochondria and features relevant to adiposity such as intracellular lipid content and leptin receptor expression.
Here in Galway we have been employing advanced imaging and stereological methods to explore quantifiable anatomical features that may help explain the altered contractility.
A decline in mitochondrial function has been associated with normal aging and correlated with the development of a wide range of age-related diseases. Obesity causes various changes in the body including disturbance to inflammatory processes which may lead to an increase in the production of reactive oxygen species and cause oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can in turn lead to mitochondrial dysfunction.
In the present study I plan to use Transmission Electron and Microscopy and a stereological toolkit to test the hypothesis that Aging and Obesity are associated with alteration in mitochondrial structure in the gravid myometrium