Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy

Research Area: Vibration-induced vascular and nerve injury

Hand-arm vibration syndrome is a vasospastic peripheral neuropathy affecting workers exposed to hand-transmitted vibration from powered tools over many years. In the rat-tail model simulating hand-transmitted vibration, acute vibration causes vasoconstriction and free radical formation in the rat tail artery, which persists for at least 24hrs post exposure. Vibration induces vacuoles in the smooth muscle and endothelial cells. Vibration-induced damage to vascular smooth muscle cells is a two step process-a centrally modulated vasoconstriction which causes smooth muscle cells to form blebs on the cell surface and the repeated mechanical displacement of tissue causing these blebs to shear off from the cells to cause cell membrane loss. My current project addresses if vibration causes osmotic damage to endothelial cells.

Myelinated fibers undergo delamination of myelin in the tail nerves, when subjected to vibration for as short as an hour. There is also significant edema, more pronounced around arterioles and venules in the nerves when vibrated. I am currently investigating if vasoconstriction and free radicals plays a role in vibration-induced nerve damage.