title: Feasibility of in vivo quantitative magnetic resonance imaging with diffusion weighted imaging, T2-weighted relaxometry, and diffusion tensor imaging in a clinical 3 tesla magnetic resonance scanner for the acute traumatic spinal cord injury of rats: technical note.
abstract: METHODS
  Prospective longitudinal study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To verify the feasibility of performing in vivo quantitative magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of moderate traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats using a clinical 3T scanner.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Animal models of human diseases are essential for translational medicine. Potential treatments of SCI are evaluated in 2 ways: anatomical and functional. Advanced magnetic resonance sequences allow a noninvasive assessment of the spinal cord depicting both. This study describes and validates a very reproducible, feasible, affordable, and reliable method, designed to be applied in commercial 3T equipment, using a novel stereotactic device for spinal cord, leading to a readily available assessment of the progression of damage generated after traumatic SCI in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four Long-Evans female rats were injured with a New York University weight-drop device to produce the SCI by contusion at thoracic level 10. All animals were placed in a fixation system, using a commercial wrist antenna to obtain magnetic resonance imaging data of the relaxometry time, apparent diffusion coefficient, and fractional anisotropy. Three sets of data obtained before SCI and 1 and 4 weeks after injury were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The data showed a progressive decline in fractional anisotropy measurements after SCI comparing baseline versus the 1-week period (P < 0.001) and baseline versus the 4-week period (P < 0.019), with a significant progressive increase in apparent diffusion coefficient values and T2 after SCI only in the baseline versus the 4-week period (P < 0.045 and P < 0.024, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results helped us to validate a novel method to acquire highly reproducible and reliable quantitative biomarkers of traumatic SCI in vivo by using a 3T clinical MR scanner coupled with a novel stereotactic device for rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  N/A.
authors.affiliation: *Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, México; †Departamento de Neuroquímica, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, México; ‡Departamento de Sistemas Biológicos, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, México; §Departamento de Física, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, México; ¶GE Healthcare, Mexico; ‖Unidad de Investigación Médica en Enfermedades Neurológicas, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México; and **Magnetic Resonance Unit, Medica Sur Clinic & Foundation, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mondragon-Lozano
authors.forename: Araceli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diaz-Ruiz
authors.forename: Camilo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ríos
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Olayo Gonzalez
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Favila
authors.forename: Hermelinda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Salgado-Ceballos
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Roldan-Valadez
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D016880:Anisotropy; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae