title: A modified compression model of spinal cord injury in rats: functional assessment and the expression of nitric oxide synthases.
abstract: METHODS
  Experimental study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate a modified compression model of spinal cord injury (SCI) in adult rats by using a room-air- inflated Fogarty balloon catheter.
  
  
  METHODS
  Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
  
  
  METHODS
  The rats were divided into injury, sham-operated and control groups. A 2-French Fogarty catheter was passed from the lumbar spine (L3-L4) epidurally, with a mini-laminectomy under the microscope, to the level of thoracic spine (T6-T7). The actual site of the catheter tip was confirmed with X-ray. The balloon of Fogarty catheter then was inflated with room air, 0.2 ml, for 10 min. Mini-laminectomy was performed without inserting the catheter in the sham-operated group. Quantitative neurological outcomes were evaluated with the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale daily. The gene expression of nitric oxide synthases (NOSs) of the spinal cord was investigated at the end of the functional assessment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean BBB locomotor scores were 10±1.85 and 10±1.85, respectively, on days 1 and 3 in the injury group, and 21 and 20.29±0.69, respectively, in the sham-operated group. There was a significantly increased gene expression of inducible NOS in the SCI group compared with the sham-operated group and control group. Endothelial NOS gene expression was not significantly different among the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The functional and molecular assessments show that this modified balloon-compression technique is a reproducible, simple and inexpensive model of SCI in rats.
authors: 1] Department of Neurosurgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan [2] Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors: Y-F
authors: YF
authors: Su
authors: 1] Department of Neurosurgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan [2] Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors: C-L
authors: CL
authors: Lin
authors: 1] Department of Neurosurgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan [2] Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors: K-S
authors: KS
authors: Lee
authors: 1] Department of Neurosurgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan [2] Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors: T-H
authors: TH
authors: Tsai
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors: S-C
authors: SC
authors: Wu
authors: 1] Department of Neurosurgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan [2] Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors: S-L
authors: SL
authors: Hwang
authors: 1] Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan [2] Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors: S-C
authors: SC
authors: Chen
authors: 1] Department of Neurosurgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan [2] Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors: A-L
authors: AL
authors: Kwan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057785:Catheters; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D015870:Gene Expression; D007796:Laminectomy; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008297:Male; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000378:metabolism*; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D011897:Random Allocation; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000201:enzymology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; C496318:Nos2 protein, rat; C496316:Nos3 protein, rat
references: Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2006 Aug;148(8):873-9; discussion 879
references: 16791438
references: Spinal Cord. 2000 Aug;38(8):449-72
references: 10962607
references: Neurosci Lett. 2008 May 9;436(2):265-8
references: 18400399
references: J Neurotrauma. 2002 Nov;19(11):1467-74
references: 12490011
references: Physiol Res. 2009;58(2):269-77
references: 18380532
references: Brain Res Mol Brain Res. 2000 Dec 28;85(1-2):114-22
references: 11146113
references: Brain Res Rev. 2007 Apr;54(1):205-18
references: 17500094
references: J Neurosci Methods. 2009 Feb 15;177(1):183-93
references: 19013194
references: Spinal Cord. 2007 Nov;45(11):731-8
references: 17353913
references: Exp Neurol. 1996 Jun;139(2):244-56
references: 8654527
references: Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2004 Nov;85(11):1740-8
references: 15520968
references: J Neurotrauma. 1995 Feb;12(1):1-21
references: 7783230
references: Acta Neuropathol. 2000 Jul;100(1):13-22
references: 10912915
references: J Korean Med Sci. 2005 Aug;20(4):663-9
references: 16100462
references: J Neurosurg Spine. 2006 Jun;4(6):485-93
references: 16776360
references: Brain Res. 2004 Jan 2;995(1):76-83
references: 14644473
references: Neurosci Lett. 2002 Feb 22;319(3):129-32
references: 11834310
references: J Neurotrauma. 2001 Dec;18(12):1399-407
references: 11780869
references: Neurochem Int. 2006 Jul;49(2):170-82
references: 16765486
references: J Neurosurg. 2008 Jul;109(1):92-9
references: 18590437
references: J Neurotrauma. 1996 Jul;13(7):343-59
references: 8863191