title: Latencies obtained of the somatosensory evoked potentials of the median and tibial nerve in rhesus monkey undergoing intrauterine laminectomy to simulate myelomeningocele.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) have been described as excellent indicators of the degree of medullar injury in degenerative and metabolic diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). The prevalence of neural tube defects (NTD) is 6 cases/10,000 live newborns worldwide. It is thought that genetic as well as environmental factors contribute to the etiology of NTD. The objective of this study was to analyze and compare the latencies obtained by means of SSEP in a clinically healthy monkey vs. rhesus monkeys with intrauterine surgery in order to simulate surgically the neural tube defect (myelomengocele) by performing an intrauterine laminectomy and in which later the defect was corrected.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was performed using three non-human primates of the Macaca mulatta species. There were practice intrauterine surgeries in two monkeys to simulate the neurological defect produced by myelomeningocele, using the third monkey as control. For statistical methodology four monkeys were used. They were born by natural birth without any surgical manipulation. With the cesarean-obtained products, stimulation was performed of the tibial and median nerve.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed that the hind limbs were the most affected, in particular, the left afferent of the monkey. The spinal cord was exposed to amniotic fluid, and there were no significant differences in the forelimbs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of SSEP provides valuable information regarding preservation of sensorial functions in a variety of experimental neurological abnormalities.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Primates, Centro de Investigación, Proyecto Camina, AC, México, DF, Mexico. rhpithecus@yahoo.com.mx
authors.forename: Braulio
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hernández-Godínez
authors.forename: Alejandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ibáñez-Contreras
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Durand-Rivera
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galván-Montaño
authors.forename: Sergio Abraham
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Reyes-Pantoja
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cárdenas-Lailson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002585:Cesarean Section; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory; D005260:Female; D046128:Fetal Therapies; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D007796:Laminectomy / Q000379:methods*; D007866:Leg / Q000294:innervation; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008591:Meningomyelocele / Q000196:embryology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D011247:Pregnancy; D011930:Reaction Time; D013526:Surgical Mesh; D013979:Tibial Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology*