A rat model of spinal cord ischemic injury (original) (raw)

Spinal cord ischemia is characterized by abnormal or failed transmission of action potentials along axons, often resulting in serious clinical disability. The therapeutic time window for spinal ischemia varies from 2 to 48 hours. 2 A rabbit model, characterized by Zivin and DeGirolami, 3 has been one of the most frequently used models for the study of spinal cord ischemic injury. Paraplegia can be reliably produced in a rabbit by temporarily interrupting the blood flow to the infrarenal aorta. As humans do not share similar vascular anatomy with rabbits, this is not a translational model. 2 In contrast, several studies have shown that the vascular anatomy of the rat and the human spinal cord are almost identical. 4 Spinal cord injury (SCI) has been produced in the rat by temporarily clamping the aortic arch, accessed through a thoracotomy. 5 In addition, Coston et al. 6 described a minimally invasive rat model of SCI. Kanellopoulos and colleagues 7 claimed to have an ischemic model with both minimally invasive surgery and induced hypovolemia. However, none of the various rat models of SCI has gained significant popularity due to lack of reproducibility.