The histopathology of experimental spinal cord trauma

1978 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 1002-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen E. Rawe ◽  
William A. Lee ◽  
Phanor L. Perot
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Systemic Blood Pressure ◽  
Post Injury ◽  
Systemic Blood ◽  
Edema Formation ◽  
Thoracic Spinal Cord ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Thoracic Spinal ◽  
Marked Enhancement

✓ The early sequential histopathological alterations following a concussive paraplegic injury to the posterior thoracic spinal cord in cats were studied. The lack of significant progression of hemorrhages over a 4-hour period after injury indicates that most hemorrhages probably occur within the first hour. The marked enhancement or retardation of hemorrhages in the post-injury period, when the blood pressure was increased or decreased, respectively, demonstrates the loss of autoregulation of spinal cord vasculature at the trauma site after a concussive paraplegic injury. Progressive edema formation was evident over a 4-hour period following injury, and it could be enhanced or retarded by elevation or reduction of the systemic blood pressure.

Combined medical and surgical treatment after acute spinal cord injury: results of a prospective pilot study to assess the merits of aggressive medical resuscitation and blood pressure management

1997 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando L. Vale ◽  
Jennifer Burns ◽  
Amie B. Jackson ◽  
Mark N. Hadley
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Bladder Function ◽  
Thoracic Spinal Cord ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
Thoracic Spinal ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The optimal management of acute spinal cord injuries remains to be defined. The authors prospectively applied resuscitation principles of volume expansion and blood pressure maintenance to 77 patients who presented with acute neurological deficits as a result of spinal cord injuries occurring from C-1 through T-12 in an effort to maintain spinal cord blood flow and prevent secondary injury. According to the Intensive Care Unit protocol, all patients were managed by using Swan—Ganz and arterial blood pressure catheters and were treated with immobilization and fracture reduction as indicated. Intravenous fluids, colloid, and vasopressors were administered as necessary to maintain mean arterial blood pressure above 85 mm Hg. Surgery was performed for decompression and stabilization, and fusion in selected cases. Sixty-four patients have been followed at least 12 months postinjury by means of detailed neurological assessments and functional ability evaluations. Sixty percent of patients with complete cervical spinal cord injuries improved at least one Frankel or American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grade at the last follow-up review. Thirty percent regained the ability to walk and 20% had return of bladder function 1 year postinjury. Thirty-three percent of the patients with complete thoracic spinal cord injuries improved at least one Frankel or ASIA grade. Approximately 10% of the patients regained the ability to walk and had return of bladder function. As of the 12-month follow-up review, 92% of patients demonstrated clinical improvement after sustaining incomplete cervical spinal cord injuries compared to their initial neurological status. Ninety-two percent regained the ability to walk and 88% regained bladder function. Eighty-eight percent of patients with incomplete thoracic spinal cord injuries demonstrated significant improvements in neurological function 1 year postinjury. Eighty-eight percent were able to walk and 63% had return of bladder function. The authors conclude that the enhanced neurological outcome that was observed in patients after spinal cord injury in this study was in addition to, and/or distinct from, any potential benefit provided by surgery. Early and aggressive medical management (volume resuscitation and blood pressure augmentation) of patients with acute spinal cord injuries optimizes the potential for neurological recovery after sustaining trauma.

Norepinephrine levels in experimental spinal cord trauma

1977 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 350-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen E. Rawe ◽  
Robert H. Roth ◽  
William F. Collins
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
No Reduction ◽  
Pressor Response ◽  
Systemic Blood Pressure ◽  
Spinal Cord Trauma ◽  
Systemic Blood ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tissue Levels ◽  
Spinal Cord Level

✓ Alpha methyl tyrosine (AMT) or reserpine administered intravenously 24 hours before sacrifice in the nontraumatized cat resulted in significant reduction in tissue levels of norepinephrine (NE) tested at the T-5 spinal cord level. Phenoxybenzamine given 2 hours before sacrifice did not alter NE levels at T-5. Histological sections of spinal cord examined 1 hour after a 500 gm-cm trauma at the T-5 level in cats, pretreated 24 hours before trauma by a single dose of AMT or reserpine, demonstrated no reduction of gray or white matter hemorrhages when compared to controls. In cats pretreated with phenoxybenzamine 2 hours before trauma there was a marked reduction of hemorrhages at 1 hour posttrauma when compared to controls. The animals treated with phenoxybenzamine had a 32% reduction of systemic blood pressure before trauma, demonstrated no pressor response to spinal cord trauma, and were severely hypotensive posttrauma. It is concluded that posttraumatic blood pressure has greater etiological significance in the pathogenesis of experimental spinal cord hemorrhages than tissue levels of NE.

scholarly journals The Histopathology of Severe Graded Compression in Lower Thoracic Spinal Cord Segment of Rat, Evaluated at Late Post-injury Phase

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fedorova Jana ◽  
Kellerova Erika ◽  
Bimbova Katarina ◽  
Pavel Jaroslav
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spontaneous Recovery ◽  
Traumatic Injury ◽  
Blue Dye ◽  
Post Injury ◽  
Thoracic Spinal Cord ◽  
Thoracic Spinal ◽  
Severe Traumatic Injury ◽  
Spinal Cord Segment ◽  
Cord Injury

AbstractSpontaneous recovery of lost motor functions is relative fast in rodent models after inducing a very mild/moderate spinal cord injury (SCI), and this may complicate a reliable evaluation of the effectiveness of potential therapy. Therefore, a severe graded (30 g, 40 g and 50 g) weight-compression SCI at the Th9 spinal segment, involving an acute mechanical impact followed by 15 min of persistent compression, was studied in adult female Wistar rats. Functional parameters, such as spontaneous recovery of motor hind limb and bladder emptying function, and the presence of hematuria were evaluated within 28 days of the post-traumatic period. The disruption of the blood-spinal cord barrier, measured by extravasated Evans Blue dye, was examined 24 h after the SCI, when maximum permeability occurs. At the end of the survival period, the degradation of gray and white matter associated with the formation of cystic cavities, and quantitative changes of glial structural proteins, such as GFAP, and integral components of axonal architecture, such as neurofilaments and myelin basic protein, were evaluated in the lesioned area of the spinal cord. Based on these functional and histological parameters, and taking the animal’s welfare into account, the 40 g weight can be considered as an upper limit for severe traumatic injury in this compression model.

Transdural herniation of the thoracic spinal cord: untethering via a posterolateral transpedicular approach

2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryder Gwinn ◽  
Fraser Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Posterior Approach ◽  
Thoracic Spinal Cord ◽  
Dural Repair ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transpedicular Approach ◽  
Thoracic Spinal ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Spinal Cord Herniation ◽  
Thoracic Cord

✓ Anterior spinal cord herniation is a well-documented condition in which the thoracic cord becomes tethered within a defect in the anterior dura mater. Typical procedures have involved a posterior approach with direct manipulation of the thoracic cord to expose and blindly release its point of tethering. The authors report three cases in which a novel approach for the treatment of anterior thoracic cord herniation was performed, cord manipulation and traction are minimized, and direct dural repair of the defect is performed.

Histopathology of experimental hematomyelia

1991 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 911-915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas H. Milhorat ◽  
David E. Adler ◽  
Ian M. Heger ◽  
John I. Miller ◽  
Joanna R. Hollenberg-Sher
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Tissue Injury ◽  
Central Canal ◽  
Microglial Cells ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Thoracic Spinal Cord ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Thoracic Spinal ◽  
Cellular Debris ◽  
Dorsal Columns

✓ The pathology of hematomyelia was examined in 35 rats following the stereotactic injection of 2 µl blood into the dorsal columns of the thoracic spinal cord. This experimental model produced a small ball-hemorrhage without associated neurological deficits or significant tissue injury. Histological sections of the whole spinal cord were studied at intervals ranging from 2 hours to 4 months after injection. In acute experiments (2 to 6 hours postinjection), blood was sometimes seen within the lumen of the central canal extending rostrally to the level of the fourth ventricle. Between 24 hours and 3 days, the parenchymal hematoma became consolidated and there was an intense proliferation of microglial cells at the perimeter of the lesion. The cells invaded the hematoma, infiltrated its core, and removed erythrocytes by phagocytosis. Rostral to the lesion, the lumen of the central canal was found to contain varying amounts of fibrin, proteinaceous material, and cellular debris for up to 15 days. These findings were much less prominent in the segments of the canal caudal to the lesion. Healing of the parenchymal hematoma was usually complete within 4 to 6 weeks except for residual hemosiderin-laden microglial cells and focal gliosis at the lesion site. It is concluded that the clearance of atraumatic hematomyelia probably involves two primary mechanisms: 1) phagocytosis of the focal hemorrhage by microglial cells; and 2) drainage of blood products in a rostral direction through the central canal of the spinal cord.

Intramedullary canine spinal cord tumor model

1984 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Salcman ◽  
Ernesto Botero ◽  
Krishna C. V. Rao ◽  
Richard D. Broadwell ◽  
Eric Scott
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Cell Suspension ◽  
Spinal Cord Tumor ◽  
Calf Serum ◽  
Tumor Model ◽  
Thoracic Spinal Cord ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tumor Cell Suspension ◽  
Thoracic Spinal ◽  
Ethyl Cyanoacrylate

✓ The development of a transplantable model brain tumor in the neonatal dog, the adaptation of the tumor to tissue culture, and the successful growth of the tumor in adult mongrel dogs has been adapted to producing similar tumors in the thoracic spinal cord of the adult dog. Ten adult dogs, weighing 4 to 25.4 kg each, were subjected to formal laminectomy. The tumor cell suspension was injected by hand with a Hamilton syringe at two or three sites over a distance of 1 cm; each site received an injection volume to 0.02 to 0.05 cc of the cell suspension after the dura had been opened. Immediately after injection the field was copiously irrigated and the puncture area sealed with a single drop of ethyl cyanoacrylate. Tumor cells for injection were obtained by thawing ampules stored at −195°C in a mixture of 10% dimethyl sulfoxide and RPMI 1640 culture medium. Cells were resuspended in Hank's balanced salt solution and 15% fetal calf serum on ice. Solutions had 90% cell viability, and animals received a dose in the range of 3 to 13 × 106 cells. Eight animals developed tumors and became paraparetic on the 9th to 14th postinjection day. Metrizamide myelography in three animals revealed complete blocks; two animals underwent spinal computerized tomography (CT) and demonstrated syringohydromyelia. Histology revealed the tumors to be highly vascular primitive neoplasms that invaded the surrounding cord. This spinal cord tumor model is large enough to be operated on, studied by CT and myelography, and subjected to pharmacological, electrophysiological, and blood flow study.

Method for measuring brain tissue pressure

1975 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Clark ◽  
Norman F. Capra ◽  
James H. Halsey
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Brain Tissue ◽  
Systemic Blood Pressure ◽  
Systemic Blood ◽  
Tissue Pressure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pressure Changes ◽  
Local Brain

✓ The authors report a method for measuring total local brain tissue pressure (BTP) using a miniature catheter transducer stereotaxically introduced into the white matter of the cat's cerebrum. Quantitative rapid phasic pressure changes were satisfactorily demonstrated. Due to some drift of baseline of the transducers and inability to perform in vivo calibration, reliable long-term quantitative pressure measurements sometimes could not be studied. The BTP from each cerebral hemisphere and the cisternal pressure (CP) were monitored during alterations of pCO2 and systemic blood pressure, and distilled H2O injection prior to and after right middle cerebral artery (MCA) ligation. The catheter transducers functioned well on chronic implantation for up to 6 weeks. Compared to the chronically implanted catheters, acutely implanted catheters responded identically except for drift. The response of intracranial pressure and CP to MCA occlusion, alterations in pCO2, and systemic blood pressure were similar. No BTP gradients appeared in response to MCA ligation, hypercapnia, hypertension, or progressive swelling of the resulting infarction.

Multiple hemangiomas (hemangiomatosis) of the cauda equina and spinal cord

2000 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Roncaroli ◽  
Bernd W. Scheithauer ◽  
H. Gordon Deen
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Cauda Equina ◽  
Conus Medullaris ◽  
Unique Case ◽  
Nerve Roots ◽  
Thoracic Spinal Cord ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Thoracic Spinal ◽  
History Of ◽  
Leg Weakness

✓ A case of multiple hemangiomas of the cauda equina nerve roots, conus medullaris, and lower spinal cord is described. The 74-year-old male patient presented with a 9-month history of progressive bilateral leg weakness. He had a history of lymphoma at the age of 39 years and renal cell carcinoma in his early 40s. Neither disease was evident at the time of this presentation. A magnetic resonance image revealed multiple enhancing nodules in the cauda equina region as well as on the pial surface of the lower thoracic spinal cord and conus medullaris. The patient underwent an L2–3 laminectomy. Cauda equina nerve roots were found to be studded with numerous purple nodules, the largest measuring 6 to 8 mm. The nodules were adherent to nerve roots from which they could not be resected. Two lesions were histologically examined and found to be capillary hemangiomas. Twelve months into an uneventful postoperative course, the patient is neurologically unchanged. This unique case might represent a distinct form of hemangiomatosis confined to the cauda equina nerve roots and spinal cord.

Dorsal arachnoid web with spinal cord compression: variant of an arachnoid cyst?

2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher G. Paramore
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Subarachnoid Space ◽  
Rare Variants ◽  
Mass Effect ◽  
Arachnoid Cysts ◽  
Thoracic Myelopathy ◽  
Pia Mater ◽  
Thoracic Spinal Cord ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Thoracic Spinal

✓ Spinal arachnoid cysts are diverticula of the subarachnoid space that may compress the spinal cord; these lesions are most commonly found in the thoracic spine. Two patients who presented with thoracic myelopathy were noted on magnetic resonance imaging to have focal indentation of the dorsal thoracic cord, with syringomyelia inferior to the site of compression. Both patients were found at operation to have discrete arachnoid “webs” tenaciously attached to the dura mater and pia mater. These webs were not true arachnoid cysts, yet they blocked the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and caused focal compression of the spinal cord. The mass effect appeared to be the result of a pressure gradient created by the obstruction of CSF flow in the dorsal aspect of the subarachnoid space. Both patients responded well to resection of the arachnoid web. Arachnoid webs appear to be rare variants of arachnoid cysts and should be suspected in patients with focal compression of the thoracic spinal cord.

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