Establishing an intervertebral disc degeneration model in bipedal rats via a modified feeding approach.

ABSTRACT: Mechanical stress is an important factor that induces intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). However, the established in vivo models are inadequate for simulating the natural progression of disc degradation induced by mechanical forces in daily life. This study aimed to explore an improved feeding approach to compensate for the inherent deficiencies of the traditional bipedal rat IVDD model. Bipedal rats in the experimental group (M group) were placed into cages specifically designed to induce them to walk upright following constantly sliding food to increase the intradiscal pressure on their lumbar spine. Traditional bipedal rats (T group) and intact homochromous rats (C group) were fed simultaneously. We then analyzed the outcome using general indicators (weight gain, ΔW), bipedal beha

SUBMITTER: Kong M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12511429 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature