Longitudinal In Vivo Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging Remote from the Lesion Site in Rat Spinal Cord Injury.

ABSTRACT: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has demonstrated success as a biomarker of spinal cord injury (SCI) severity as shown from numerous pre-clinical studies. However, artifacts from stabilization hardware at the lesion have precluded its use for longitudinal assessments. Previous research has documented ex vivo diffusion changes in the spinal cord both caudal and cranial to the injury epicenter. The aim of this study was to use a rat contusion model of SCI to evaluate the utility of in vivo cervical DTI after a thoracic injury. Forty Sprague-Dawley rats underwent a thoracic contusion (T8) of mild, moderate, severe, or sham severity. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical cord was performed at 2, 30, and 90 days post-injury, and locomotor performance was assessed weekly u

SUBMITTER: Motovylyak A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6482909 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature