Molecular pathology of acute spinal cord injury in middle-aged mice.

ABSTRACT: The median age at which spinal cord injuries occur has steadily increased from 29 to 43 over the last several decades. Although more pre-clinical studies in aged rodents are being done to address this shift in demographics, comprehensive transcriptomic studies investigating SCI pathobiology in middle-aged mice are lacking. To address this gap in knowledge, we compared behavioral, histopathological, and transcriptional outcomes in young (2-4 months old) and middle-aged (10-12 months old) mice. In contrast to most previous studies, open field tests showed no differences in locomotor recovery between the young and middle-aged mice over a one-month period. The injury site also demonstrated similar histopathology in terms of lesion size, and numbers of macrophages and fibroblasts. Acutely after

SUBMITTER: Fehlberg C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12257783 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature