Grants Funded
ASPS/PSF leadership is committed to continuing to provide high levels of investigator-initiated research support to ensure that plastic surgeons have the needed research resources to be pioneers and innovators in advancing the practice of medicine.
Research Abstracts
Search The PSF database to have easy access to full-text grant abstracts from past PSF-funded research projects 2003 to present. All abstracts are the work of the Principal Investigators and were retrieved from their PSF grant applications. Several different filters may be applied to locate abstracts specific to a particular focus area or PSF funding mechanism.
Rescue of Coronal Suture Fusion Using Flutamide
Principal Investigator
Gregory Cooper MD
Gregory Cooper MD
Year
2008
2008
Institution
University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
Funding Mechanism
Basic Research Grant
Basic Research Grant
Focus Area
Cranio/Maxillofacial/Head and Neck
Cranio/Maxillofacial/Head and Neck
Abstract
The specific aim of this research is to test the hypothesis that administration of the androgen-receptor blocker, flutamide, to New Zealand White rabbits with delayed onset coronal suture synostosis will inhibit suture fusion and improve craniofacial growth. The rabbits, because they possess susceptible phenotypes, provide a unique opportunity for investigating the relationship between systemic variations in circulating androgen and congenital suture pathology. Research has shown that androgens increase both osteoblast proliferation and TGF-j32 expression, and that androgen receptors are present in both cranial sutures and underlying dura mater. Concerning treatment, individuals with subclinical or clinical levels of excess androgen levels may be at greater risk for post-operative resynostosis following suturectomy, a common clinical complication. With evidence of a relationship between androgen and suture synostosis, research may determine that a molecular intervention is effective. If so, it is conceivable that a suture might be "rescued" using an androgen receptor blocking agent delivered in a slow-release collagen gel in rabbits with post-gestational or delayed-onset coronal suture synostosis.
The specific aim of this research is to test the hypothesis that administration of the androgen-receptor blocker, flutamide, to New Zealand White rabbits with delayed onset coronal suture synostosis will inhibit suture fusion and improve craniofacial growth. The rabbits, because they possess susceptible phenotypes, provide a unique opportunity for investigating the relationship between systemic variations in circulating androgen and congenital suture pathology. Research has shown that androgens increase both osteoblast proliferation and TGF-j32 expression, and that androgen receptors are present in both cranial sutures and underlying dura mater. Concerning treatment, individuals with subclinical or clinical levels of excess androgen levels may be at greater risk for post-operative resynostosis following suturectomy, a common clinical complication. With evidence of a relationship between androgen and suture synostosis, research may determine that a molecular intervention is effective. If so, it is conceivable that a suture might be "rescued" using an androgen receptor blocking agent delivered in a slow-release collagen gel in rabbits with post-gestational or delayed-onset coronal suture synostosis.