A Unilateral Cervical Spinal Cord Contusion Injury Model in Non-Human Primates (Macaca mulatta).

ABSTRACT: The development of a non-human primate (NHP) model of spinal cord injury (SCI) based on mechanical and computational modeling is described. We scaled up from a rodent model to a larger primate model using a highly controllable, friction-free, electronically-driven actuator to generate unilateral C6-C7 spinal cord injuries. Graded contusion lesions with varying degrees of functional recovery, depending upon pre-set impact parameters, were produced in nine NHPs. Protocols and pre-operative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used to optimize the predictability of outcomes by matching impact protocols to the size of each animal's spinal canal, cord, and cerebrospinal fluid space. Post-operative MRI confirmed lesion placement and provided information on lesion volume and spread for compariso

SUBMITTER: Salegio EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4799702 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature