Stephen Scheff, Ph.D.
Position
Professor
Address
Address
Room 101, Sanders-Brown Center On Aging
800 South Limestone Street
Lexington, KY 40536-0230
Departmental Affiliations
Anatomy and Neurobiology, Neurology, Psychology and Sanders-Brown Center on Aging.
Endowed Chair
Mansbach Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease.
Research Focus
Changes in brain connectivity as a function of both normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Using morphological studies, it is possible to investigate changes in synaptic connections in both limbic and association areas of the brain that reflect alterations in cognitive function. The laboratory uses short postmortem human tissue to try and understand the mechanisms underlying the loss of synaptic connections in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease. Another portion of the laboratory employs animal models of traumatic brain injury to study how normal aging affects the recovery mechanism following neural trauma. These studies are multi-faceted and study not only morphological but also behavioral and neurochemical alterations.
Lab Mission
To gain a better understanding of normal human aging and changes occurring in mild cognitive impairment leading to the development of pharmacologic therapy to improve the quality of life.
Recent Publications
Hunt, R.F., Scheff, S.W., Smith, B.N. Regionally localized recurrent excitation in the dentate gyrus of a cortical contusion model of posttraumatic epilepsy. Journal of Neurophysiology. 2010 103:1490-1500.
Gilmer, L.K., Ansari, M.A., Roberts, K.N., Scheff, S.W. Age-related mitochondrial changes following traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma, 2010 27:939-950.
Ansari, M.A. and Scheff, S.W., Oxidative stress in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in the frontal cortex. Journal of Neuropathology Experimental Neurology. 2010 69:155-167.
Gilmer, L.K., Ansari, M.A., Roberts, K.N., Scheff, S.W., Age-related changes in mitochondrial respiration and oxidative damage in the cerebral cortex of the Fischer 344 rat. Mechanisms of Aging & Development, 2010 131:133-143.
Nelson, P.T., Abner, E.L., Scheff, S.W., Schmitt, F.A., Kryscio, R.J., Jicha, G.A., Smith, C.D., Patel, E. and Markesbery, W.R. Alzheimer’s-type neuropathology in the precuneus is not increased relative to other areas of neocortex across a range of cognitive impairment. Neuroscience Letters 2009 450:336-339.
Gilmer, L.K., Roberts, K.N., Joy, K., Sullivan, P.G., Scheff, S.W. Early mitochondrial dysfunction following cortical contusion injury. Journal of Neurotrauma 2009 26:1271-1280.
Norris, C.M. and Scheff, S.W. Recovery of afferent function and synaptic strength in hippocampal CA1 following traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma 2009 26:2269-2278.
Ansari, M., Roberts, K.N., and Scheff, S.W., A time course of oxidative stress and synaptic proteins in cortex of contusion induced rat model of TBI. Journal of Neurotrauma 2008 25:513-526.
Ansari, M., Roberts, K.N., and Scheff, S.W. Oxidative stress and modification of synaptic proteins in hippocampus after traumatic brain injury. Free Radical Biology & Medicine 2008 45:443-452.
Anderson, K.J., Scheff, S.W., Miller, K.M., Roberts, K.N., Gilmer, L.K., Yang, C., and Shaw, G. The Phosphorylated axonal form of the neurofilament subunit NF-N (pNF-H) as a blood biomarker of traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma 2008 25:1079-1085.
Guseva, M., Scheff, S.W. and Pauly, J.R. Dietary choline supplementation improves behavioral, histological and neurochemical outcomes in a rat model of traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma 2008 25:975-983.
Ansari, M.A., Keller, J.N., and Scheff, S.W. Protective effect of pycnogenol in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells against acrolein induced cytotoxicity. Free Radical Biology & Medicine 2008 45:1510-1519.
Pettigrew, L.C., Kindy, M.S., Scheff, S.W., Springer, J.E., Kryscio, R.J., Li, Y., Grass, D.S. Focal cerebral ischemia in the TNF a-transgenic rat. Journal of Neuroinflammation 2008 5:47-56.
Adjan VV, Hauser KF, Bakalkin G, Yakovleva T, Gharibyan A, Scheff SW, Knapp PE. Caspase-3 activity is reduced after spinal cord injury in mice lacking dynorphin: differential effects on glia and neurons. Neuroscience 148: 724-736, 2007.
Bruce-Keller AJ, Dimayuga FO, Reed JL, Wang C, Angers R, Wilson ME, Dimayuga VM, Scheff SW. Gender and estrogen manipulation do not affect traumatic brain injury in mice. J Neurotrauma 24: 203-215, 2007.
Fee DB, Swartz KR, Joy KM, Roberts KN, Scheff NN, Scheff SW. Effects of progesterone on experimental spinal cord injury. Brain Res 1137: 146-152, 2007.
Onifer SM, Rabchevsky AG, Scheff SW. Rat models of traumatic spinal cord injury to assess motor recovery. Ilar J 48: 385-395, 2007.
Rabchevsky AG, Sullivan PG, Scheff SW. Temporal-spatial dynamics in oligodendrocyte and glial progenitor cell numbers throughout ventrolateral white matter following contusion spinal cord injury. Glia 55: 831-843, 2007.
Scheff, S.W., Price, D.A., Schmitt, F.A., DeKosky, S.T., and Mufson, E.J. Synaptic alterations in CA1 in mild Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment. Neurology 2007 68:1501-1508.
Swartz KR, Fee DB, Joy KM, Roberts KN, Sun S, Scheff NN, Wilson ME, Scheff SW. Gender differences in spinal cord injury are not estrogen-dependent. J Neurotrauma 24: 473-480, 2007.
Scheff, S.W., Price, D.A., Schmitt, F.A., and Mufson, E. Loss of synapses in the hippocampal dentate gyrus in early Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment. Neurobiology of Aging 2006 27:1372-1384.
Scheff, S.W. and Price, D.A. Alzheimer’s disease-related alterations in synaptic density: neocortex and hippocampus Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 2006 9:101-115.