New canine spinal cord injury model free from laminectomy.
The present report details the successful development of a model for spinal cord injury (SCI). This model is simple, reproducible, and requires no laminectomy. Development of the model was carried out using fourteen dogs. A balloon catheter was inserted into the extradural space via the intervertebral foramen of each dog, then the balloon was inflated at the L1 level by injection of saline. Six dogs underwent compression with a balloon volume of 1.5 ml, three dogs with a volume of 1.0 ml, and the remaining five dogs were used as uninjured controls. We applied the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale to the dogs. Compression of the spinal cord for 10 min at 1.5 ml produced severe paraplegia (BBB remained zero or one for 6 months following surgery), while compression for the same time interval at 1.0 ml produced moderate paraplegia. Electrophysiological tests showed no hindlimb movement upon stimulation cranial to the site of injury in the 1.5-ml group. The volume of abnormal-intensity lesions in the 1.0-ml group calculated using MR imaging showed no marked changes in either high- or low-intensity lesions after 3 months, whereas in the 1.5-ml group, the low-intensity lesions alone showed a marked increase. Pathological examination of the damaged spinal cord showed the formation of cavities surrounded by scar tissue containing high levels of collagen. These findings closely resembled those of clinical cases. It was concluded that 10 min of balloon compression with a volume of 1.5 ml caused irreversible paraplegia in dogs.
Fukuda
Seijun
S
Department of Bioartificial Organs, Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, East Building 309, 53 Kawahara-cho Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan. sfukuda@frontier.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Nakamura
Tatsuo
T
Kishigami
Yoshihiro
Y
Endo
Katsuaki
K
Azuma
Takashi
T
Fujikawa
Takamitsu
T
Tsutsumi
Sadami
S
Shimizu
Yasuhiko
Y
D000818:Animals; D002404:Catheterization / Q000379:methods*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004285:Dogs; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D006614:Hindlimb; D007796:Laminectomy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008280:Magnetics; D009068:Movement; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*