title: Changes in the morphology of sympathetic preganglionic neurons parallel the development of autonomic dysreflexia after spinal cord injury in rats.
abstract: Following spinal cord transection (SCT), sensory input to the spinal cord causes increases in arterial pressure that are small in rats 1 week after SCT, but become large and well established by 2 weeks. Moreover, sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs) undergo atrophy by 1 week after SCT, and regeneration of these neurons may be an important factor in the etiology of this autonomic dysreflexia. Therefore, we examined the morphology of SPNs 2 weeks after SCT using retrograde transport of the cholera toxin subunit B. The dendritic arbors of SPNs were re-established by 2 weeks after SCT. This regeneration parallels the time course of the development of autonomic dysreflexia after cord injury in the rat, and may play a role in initiating this disorder.
authors.affiliation: The John P. Robarts Research Institute and The Neuroscience Program, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. nkrenz@rri.on.ca
authors.forename: N R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Krenz
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Weaver
mesh_terms: D000320:Adrenergic Fibers / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D002772:Cholera Toxin; D003712:Dendrites / Q000473:pathology; D005728:Ganglia, Sympathetic / Q000166:cytology*; D008297:Male; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012021:Reflex, Abnormal; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D002772:Cholera Toxin