Metz G A, Curt A, van de Meent H, Klusman I, Schwab M E, Dietz V
Brain Research Institute, University and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland.
J Neurotrauma. 2000 Jan;17(1):1-17. doi: 10.1089/neu.2000.17.1.
Animal models are widely used for studying the pathophysiology as well as treatment strategies for injuries of the central nervous system. However, it is still unclear in how far the rat model of spinal cord injury (SCI) is valid for human SCI. Therefore, comparisons were made among functional, electrophysiological, and morphological outcome parameters following SCI in rats and humans. Contusion of the mid-thoracic spinal cord in 27 adult rats was induced by a weight-drop, leading to severe deficits in open field locomotion at a chronic stage. The data of 85 human patients with chronic SCI were collected and compared with the rat data. In electrophysiological recordings, prolonged latencies and reduced amplitudes in both motor evoked potentials (MEP) and somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) were closely correlated to the impairment of locomotor capacity of lower limbs in rats and humans. The morphological parameters assessed by high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in both species indicated that the lesion length and spinal cord atrophy were significantly related to the electrophysiological and functional outcome parameters. In rats, histological analysis was performed and showed, in addition to the MRI, a close relationship between spared white matter and locomotor capacity. Our results suggest an analogous relationship in rats and humans with respect to functional, electrophysiological, and morphological outcomes. Thus, the techniques for evaluating the extent and severity of SCI in humans and rats are of comparable value. This indicates that the rat can serve as an adequate animal model for research on functional and morphological changes after SCI and the effects of new treatment strategies.
动物模型被广泛用于研究中枢神经系统损伤的病理生理学以及治疗策略。然而，脊髓损伤（SCI）大鼠模型对人类SCI的有效性究竟如何仍不清楚。因此，对大鼠和人类SCI后的功能、电生理和形态学结果参数进行了比较。通过重物坠落法诱导27只成年大鼠胸段脊髓中段挫伤，导致慢性期开放场地运动严重缺陷。收集了85例慢性SCI人类患者的数据并与大鼠数据进行比较。在电生理记录中，大鼠和人类的运动诱发电位（MEP）和体感诱发电位（SSEP）的潜伏期延长和波幅降低均与下肢运动能力受损密切相关。两个物种通过高分辨率磁共振成像（MRI）评估的形态学参数表明，病变长度和脊髓萎缩与电生理和功能结果参数显著相关。在大鼠中，除了MRI外，还进行了组织学分析，结果显示保留的白质与运动能力之间存在密切关系。我们的结果表明，在大鼠和人类中，功能、电生理和形态学结果方面存在类似关系。因此，评估人类和大鼠SCI程度和严重程度的技术具有可比价值。这表明大鼠可作为研究SCI后功能和形态学变化以及新治疗策略效果的合适动物模型。
