Stenosis of the central canal of the spinal cord following inoculation of suckling hamsters with reovirus type I

1994 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas H. Milhorat ◽  
René M. Kotzen
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Central Canal ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Type I ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Human Spinal Cord ◽  
Reovirus Type ◽  
Infectivity Titer ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The central canal of the human spinal cord is partially or completely occluded in the vast majority of individuals by the early years of adult life. The authors describe an experimental lesion following virus-induced ependymitis that bears a striking resemblance to the condition in man. Suckling hamsters were inoculated with 0.06 ml of 10−3 infectivity titer of reovirus type I between the 2nd and 5th days of life. The pathological events consisted of necrotizing ependymitis, healing of the ependyma by gliovascular scarring, and obstruction of narrow bottlenecks such as the central canal. Histological findings were characterized by disorganization of the ependyma, formation of ependymal rosettes and microtubules, subependymal gliovascular scarring, and intracanalicular gliosis. These features are the same as those encountered clinically and provide strong evidence that stenosis of the central canal in man is a pathological lesion involving ependymal injury and scarring.

Split spinal cord malformations in children

1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuf Ersşahin ◽  
Saffet Mutluer ◽  
Sevgül Kocaman ◽  
Eren Demirtasş
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Single Type ◽  
Type I ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Spinal Lesion ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Fine Print

Object. The authors reviewed and analyzed information on 74 patients with split spinal cord malformations (SSCMs) treated between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1996 at their institution with the aim of defining and classifying the malformations according to the method of Pang, et al. Methods. Computerized tomography myelography was superior to other radiological tools in defining the type of SSCM. There were 46 girls (62%) and 28 boys (38%) ranging in age from less than 1 day to 12 years (mean 33.08 months). The mean age (43.2 months) of the patients who exhibited neurological deficits and orthopedic deformities was significantly older than those (8.2 months) without deficits (p = 0.003). Fifty-two patients had a single Type I and 18 patients a single Type II SSCM; four patients had composite SSCMs. Sixty-two patients had at least one associated spinal lesion that could lead to spinal cord tethering. After surgery, the majority of the patients remained stable and clinical improvement was observed in 18 patients. Conclusions. The classification of SSCMs proposed by Pang, et al., will eliminate the current chaos in terminology. In all SSCMs, either a rigid or a fibrous septum was found to transfix the spinal cord. There was at least one unrelated lesion that caused tethering of the spinal cord in 85% of the patients. The risk of neurological deficits resulting from SSCMs increases with the age of the patient; therefore, all patients should be surgically treated when diagnosed, especially before the development of orthopedic and neurological manifestations.

The effects of methylprednisolone and the ganglioside GM1 on acute spinal cord injury in rats

1994 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shlomo Constantini ◽  
Wise Young
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Body Weight Loss ◽  
Ganglioside Gm1 ◽  
Rat Spinal Cord ◽  
Neuroprotective Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Human Spinal Cord ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Recent clinical trials have reported that methylprednisolone sodium succinate (MP) or the monosialic ganglioside GM1 improves neurological recovery in human spinal cord injury. Because GM1 may have additive or synergistic effects when used with MP, the authors compared MP, GM1, and MP+GM1 treatments in a graded rat spinal cord contusion model. Spinal cord injury was caused by dropping a rod weighing 10 gm from a height of 1.25, 2.5, or 5.0 cm onto the rat spinal cord at T-10, which had been exposed via laminectomy. The lesion volumes were quantified from spinal cord Na and K shifts at 24 hours after injury and the results were verified histologically in separate experiments. A single dose of MP (30 mg/kg), given 5 minutes after injury, reduced 24-hour spinal cord lesion volumes by 56% (p = 0.0052), 28% (p = 0.0065), and 13% (p > 0.05) in the three injury-severity groups, respectively, compared to similarly injured control groups treated with vehicle only. Methylprednisolone also prevented injury-induced hyponatremia and increased body weight loss in the spine-injured rats. When used alone, GM1 (10 to 30 mg/kg) had little or no effect on any measured variable compared to vehicle controls; when given concomitantly with MP, GM1 blocked the neuroprotective effects of MP. At a dose of 3 mg/kg, GM1 partially prevented MP-induced reductions in lesion volumes, while 10 to 30 mg/kg of GM1 completely blocked these effects of MP. The effects of MP on injury-induced hyponatremia and body weight loss were also blocked by GM1. Thus, GM1 antagonized both central and peripheral effects of MP in spine-injured rats. Until this interaction is clarified, the authors recommend that MP and GM1 not be used concomitantly to treat acute human spinal cord injury. Because GM1 modulates protein kinase activity, protein kinases inhibit lipocortins, and lipocortins mediate anti-inflammatory effects of glucocorticoids, it is proposed that the neuroprotective effects of MP are partially due to anti-inflammatory effects and that GM1 antagonizes the effects of MP by inhibiting lipocortin. Possible beneficial effects of GM1 reported in central nervous system injury may be related to the effects on neural recovery rather than acute injury processes.

Evaluation of the central canal of the spinal cord in experimentally induced hydrocephalus

1978 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 970-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Everette James ◽  
William J. Flor ◽  
Gary R. Novak ◽  
Ernst-Peter Strecker ◽  
Barry Burns
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Experimental Model ◽  
Alternative Pathway ◽  
Central Canal ◽  
Communicating Hydrocephalus ◽  
Csf Flow ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Histological Appearance ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The central canal of the spinal cord has been proposed as a significant compensatory alternative pathway of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow in hydrocephalus. Ten dogs were made hydrocephalic by a relatively atraumatic experimental model that simulates the human circumstance of chronic communicating hydrocephalus. The central canal was studied by histopathology and compared with 10 normal control dogs. In both groups the central canal of the spinal cord was normal in size, configuration, and histological appearance. In this experimental model dilatation of the canal and increased movement of CSF does not appear to be a compensatory alternative pathway.

Terminal ventriculostomy for syringomyelia

1977 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 609-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. James Gardner ◽  
Herbert S. Bell ◽  
Pete N. Poolos ◽  
Donald F. Dohn ◽  
Marta Steinberg
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Course ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Central Canal ◽  
Conus Medullaris ◽  
Fetal Life ◽  
Filum Terminale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The clinical course of 12 patients who underwent terminal ventriculostomy for syringomyelia is presented. Opening the central canal at the tip of the conus medullaris is a relatively benign procedure that improves the symptoms of syringomyelia and syringobulbia. This canal normally terminates at the tip of the conus, but in each of the 12 surgical specimens it continued into the filum terminale for distances up to 8 cm. In most cases the tip of the conus was located more caudally than normal, indicating some degree of tethering in fetal life. This belief is supported by the fact that the newborn, whose conus is tethered to a lipoma at the sacral level, may develop syringomyelia in adult life.

Bladder function after incomplete spinal cord injury in mice: quantifiable outcomes associated with bladder function and efficiency of dehydroepiandrosterone as a therapeutic adjunct

2004 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-61
Author(s):  
Pierre-Yves Mure ◽  
Mark Galdo ◽  
Nathalie Compagnone
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Mouse Model ◽  
Collagen Type ◽  
Neurological Recovery ◽  
Bladder Function ◽  
Type I ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Fine Print

Object. The authors conducted a study to establish outcomes associated with bladder function in a mouse model of spinal cord injury (SCI) and to assess the sensitivity of these outcomes in determining the efficacy of pharmacological treatments. Methods. A mouse model of moderate contusive SCI was used. Outcome parameters included physiological, behavioral, and morphological measurements. To test the sensitivity of these outcomes, the authors used a dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) treatment that they had previously shown to promote neurological recovery effectively after SCI. A behavioral scale was used to identify the day at which autonomic function of the bladder was recovered. The reduction in the daily volume of urine during the period of functional recovery paralleled this scale. They then determined the day postinjury at which the functional differences between the vehicle- and DHEA-treated mice exhibited the maximal amplitude. Changes were measured in the composition of the extracellular matrix relative to collagen expression in the layer muscularis of the detrusor at this time point. They found that SCI increases the ratio of collagen type III to collagen type I in the detrusor. Moreover, in the DHEA-treated group, this ratio was similar to that demonstrated in sham-operated mice, establishing the sensitivity of this outcome to assess therapeutic benefits to the bladder function. They next examined the relationship between measurements of neurological recovery and controlled voiding by using cluster analysis. Conclusions. The authors found that early recovery of controlled voiding is predictive of motor recovery.

Deformation of the cervicomedullary junction and spinal cord in a surgically treated adult Chiari I hindbrain hernia associated with syringomyelia: a magnetic resonance microscopic and neuropathological study

1996 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emile A. M. Beuls ◽  
Marie-Anne M. Vandersteen ◽  
Linda M. Vanormelingen ◽  
Peter J. Adriaensens ◽  
Gerard Freling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Cervical Cord ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Microscopy ◽  
Type I ◽  
Additional Advantage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hindbrain Hernia ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The lower brainstem and cervical spinal cord from an ordinarily treated case of Chiari Type I hindbrain hernia associated with syringomyelia was examined using high-resolution magnetic resonance microscopy and standard neuropathological techniques. Magnetic resonance microscopy allows total screening and visualizes the disturbed internal and external microanatomy in the three orthogonal planes with the resolution of low-power optical microscopy. An additional advantage is the in situ visualization of the shunts. Afterwards the intact specimen is still available for microscopic examination. Part of the deformation of the medulla is caused by chronic tonsillar compression and molding inside the foramen magnum. Other anomalies, such as atrophy caused by demyelination, elongation, and unusual disturbances at the level of the trigeminal and solitary nuclear complexes contribute to the deformation. At the level of the syrinx-free upper part of the cervical cord, anomalies of the dorsal root and the dorsal horn are demonstrated.

Cervical spinal cord in experimental hydrocephalus

1972 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 538-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
George J. Dohrmann
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Brain Stem ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Central Canal ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Experimental Hydrocephalus ◽  
Physiological Pressure ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Shunting Procedure ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Adult dogs were rendered hydrocephalic by the injection of kaolin into the cisterna magna. One group of dogs was sacrificed 1 month after kaolin administration, and ventriculojugular shunts were performed on the other group. Hydrocephalic dogs with shunts were sacrificed 1 day or 1 week after the shunting procedure. All dogs were perfused with formalin at physiological pressure, and the brain stem and cervical spinal cord were examined by light microscopy. Subarachnoid granulomata encompassed the superior cervical spinal cord and dependent surface of the brain stem. Rarefaction of the posterior white columns and clefts or cavities involving the gray matter posterior to the central canal and/or posterior white columns were present in the spinal cords of both hydrocephalic and shunted hydrocephalic dogs. Predominantly in the dogs with shunts, hemorrhages were noted in the spinal cord in association with the clefts or cavities. A mechanism of ischemia followed by reflow of blood is postulated to explain the hemorrhages in the spinal cords of hydrocephalic dogs with shunts.

Ventricular perfusion in cats with kaolin-induced hydrocephalus

1974 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard M. Eisenberg ◽  
James E. McLennan ◽  
Keasley Welch
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Subarachnoid Space ◽  
Central Canal ◽  
Ventricular System ◽  
Ventricular Pressure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lateral Ventricles ◽  
Spinal Subarachnoid Space ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Cats were made hydrocephalic by cisternal instillation of kaolin. Three to 8 weeks later it was found by perfusion between the ventricular system and the spinal subarachnoid space that communication had been reestablished through a demonstrably dilated central canal of the spinal cord. Absorption of fluid from the ventricular system, measured both by ventriculospinal perfusion and, after ligation of the spinal cord, by perfusion between the lateral ventricles, was found to be indistinguishable from zero over a wide range of ventricular pressure.

Effect of vasodilators and myelotomy on recovery after acute spinal cord injury in rats

1979 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex S. Rivlin ◽  
Charles H. Tator
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Quantitative Method ◽  
Cord Compression ◽  
Central Canal ◽  
Compression Injury ◽  
Dorsal Midline ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Spinal Cord Function ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The effect of papaverine, nitroprusside, or myelotomy on the recovery of spinal cord function was studied in rats after acute cord-compression injury. Spinal cord recovery was measured by a quantitative method of clinical assessment previously developed in our laboratory. Neither papaverine nor nitroprusside improved recovery of cord function. Dorsal midline myelotomy extending anteriorly as far as the central canal did not produce significant improvement (p > 0.05). However, when the myelotomy extended completely through the cord in the anteroposterior plane significant improvement (p < 0.01) was obtained.

Experimental hydrosyringomyelia, ischemic myelopathy, and syringomyelia

1975 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 464-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter V. Hall ◽  
Jans Muller ◽  
Robert L. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Central Canal ◽  
Compensatory Mechanism ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The authors found that cavities in the spinal cord of dogs appearing after the intracisternal administration of kaolin are not due to ischemic softening, but rather to distention and subsequent rupture of the central canal. Ischemic lesions could be produced and were found to have a quite different histopathology; this supports the hydrodynamic hypothesis of cavitary myelopathy following adhesive arachnoiditis, probably as a compensatory mechanism to the associated hydrocephalus. The similarities to human syringomyelia are discussed.

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