Gumbel Jason H, Steadman Casey J, Hoey Robert F, Armstrong James E, Fell Jason D, Yang Cui Bo, Montgomery Lynnette R, Hubscher Charles H
Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville.
Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville; Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, University of Louisville;
J Vis Exp. 2019 Jan 16(143). doi: 10.3791/58983.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in lasting deficits that include both mobility and a multitude of autonomic-related dysfunctions. Locomotor training (LT) on a treadmill is widely used as a rehabilitation tool in the SCI population with many benefits and improvements to daily life. We utilize this method of activity-based task-specific training (ABT) in rodents after SCI to both elucidate the mechanisms behind such improvements and to enhance and improve upon existing clinical rehabilitation protocols. Our current goal is to determine the mechanisms underlying ABT-induced improvements in urinary, bowel, and sexual function in SCI rats after a moderate to severe level of contusion. After securing each individual animal in a custom-made adjustable vest, they are secured to a versatile body weight support mechanism, lowered to a modified three-lane treadmill and assisted in step-training for 58 minutes, once a day for 10 weeks. This setup allows for the training of both quadrupedal and forelimb-only animals, alongside two different non-trained groups. Quadrupedal-trained animals with body weight support are aided by a technician present to assist in stepping with proper hind limb placement as necessary, while forelimb-only trained animals are raised at the caudal end to ensure no hind limb contact with the treadmill and no weight-bearing. One non-trained SCI group of animals is placed in a harness and rests next to the treadmill, while the other control SCI group remains in its home cage in the training room nearby. This paradigm allows for the training of multiple SCI animals at once, thus making it more time-efficient in addition to ensuring that our pre-clinical animal model mimics the clinical representation as close as possible, particularly with respect to the body weight support with manual assistance.
脊髓损伤（SCI）会导致长期的功能缺陷，包括行动能力以及多种与自主神经相关的功能障碍。在跑步机上进行的运动训练（LT）作为一种康复工具，在脊髓损伤人群中被广泛使用，对日常生活有诸多益处并能带来改善。我们在脊髓损伤后的啮齿动物中采用这种基于活动的特定任务训练（ABT）方法，以阐明此类改善背后的机制，并改进和完善现有的临床康复方案。我们当前的目标是确定在中度至重度挫伤后，ABT诱导脊髓损伤大鼠泌尿、肠道和性功能改善的潜在机制。将每只动物固定在定制的可调节背心中后，再将它们固定在一种多功能的体重支撑装置上，然后降低到改良的三车道跑步机上，每天辅助进行58分钟的步幅训练，持续10周。这种设置允许对四足动物和仅使用前肢的动物进行训练，同时设置两个不同的未训练组。有体重支撑的四足训练动物在必要时由在场的技术人员协助，以确保后肢正确放置进行迈步，而仅使用前肢训练的动物在尾端被抬起，以确保后肢不接触跑步机且不负重。一组未训练的脊髓损伤动物被安置在吊带中，放在跑步机旁边休息，而另一组对照脊髓损伤动物则留在附近训练室的笼舍中。这种模式允许同时对多只脊髓损伤动物进行训练，从而提高了时间效率，此外还确保了我们的临床前动物模型尽可能接近临床情况，特别是在人工辅助体重支撑方面。
