Department of Applied Biology, Division of Laboratory Animal Science, Biomedical Technology Wing, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
Department of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
PLoS One. 2024 Jan 16;19(1):e0294720. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294720. eCollection 2024.
Usage and reporting of analgesia in animal models of spinal cord injury (SCI) have been sparse and requires proper attention. The majority of experimental SCI research uses rats as an animal model. This study aimed to probe into the effects of some commonly used regimens with NSAIDs and opioids on well-being of the rats as well as on the functional outcome of the model. This eight-week study used forty-two female Wistar rats (Crl: WI), randomly and equally divided into 6 treatment groups, viz. I) tramadol (5mg/kg) and buprenorphine (0.05mg/kg); II) carprofen (5mg/kg) and buprenorphine (0.05mg/kg); III) carprofen (5mg/kg); IV) meloxicam (1mg/kg) and buprenorphine (0.05mg/kg); V) meloxicam (1mg/kg); and VI) no analgesia (0.5 ml sterile saline). Buprenorphine was administered twice daily whereas other treatments were given once daily for five days post-operatively. Injections were given subcutaneously. All animals underwent dental burr-assisted laminectomy at the T10-T11 vertebra level. A custom-built calibrated spring-loaded 200 kilodynes force deliverer was used to induce severe SCI. Weekly body weight scores, Rat Grimace Scale (RGS), and dark-phase home cage activity were used as markers for well-being. Weekly Basso Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) scores served as markers for functionality together with Novel Object Recognition test (NOR) at week 8 and terminal histopathology using area of vacuolisation and live neuronal count from the ventral horns of spinal cord. It was concluded that the usage of analgesia improved animal wellbeing while having no effects on the functional aspects of the animal model in comparison to the animals that received no analgesics.
在脊髓损伤（SCI）动物模型中，镇痛剂的使用和报告一直很少，需要引起重视。大多数实验性 SCI 研究使用大鼠作为动物模型。本研究旨在探讨一些常用的 NSAIDs 和阿片类药物方案对大鼠的健康状况以及模型的功能结果的影响。这项为期八周的研究使用了 42 只雌性 Wistar 大鼠（Crl：WI），随机平均分为 6 个治疗组，即 I）曲马多（5mg/kg）和丁丙诺啡（0.05mg/kg）；II）卡洛芬（5mg/kg）和丁丙诺啡（0.05mg/kg）；III）卡洛芬（5mg/kg）；IV）美洛昔康（1mg/kg）和丁丙诺啡（0.05mg/kg）；V）美洛昔康（1mg/kg）；和 VI）无镇痛（0.5ml 无菌生理盐水）。丁丙诺啡每天给药两次，而其他治疗药物在手术后五天每天给药一次。所有动物均在 T10-T11 椎骨水平接受牙科磨钻辅助椎板切除术。使用定制的校准弹簧加载 200 千牛力传递器来诱导严重的 SCI。每周的体重评分、大鼠面部表情量表（RGS）和暗期笼内活动作为健康状况的标志物。每周的 Basso Beattie 和 Bresnahan（BBB）评分以及第 8 周的新物体识别测试（NOR）和使用脊髓腹角的空泡化面积和活神经元计数的终端组织病理学作为功能标志物。研究结果表明，与未接受镇痛剂的动物相比，镇痛剂的使用改善了动物的健康状况，而对动物模型的功能方面没有影响。
