A histochemical investigation of catecholamines in spinal cord injury.

The catecholamine hypothesis of progressive spinal cord necrosis following mechanical trauma was investigated with the histofluorometric method. Forty-four adult mongrel dog were examined as control, L1 crush-injured, and crush-injured with prior T1 total transection groups. In crush injured dogs, catecholamines were present in a 1 cm length of white matter at the crush site, with the greatest accumulation in the deep lateral and ventral funiculi. Gray matter fluorescence was not enhanced. Prior transection did not abolish the intense accumulation of catecholamines at the site of the cord injury. We propose that the catecholamines accumulating at the cord injured site are not central in origin, but represent an uptake mechanism into white matter as a reflection of cord microperfusion.