Vascular changes associated with spinal root avulsion injury

This paper has investigated the hypothesis that spinal root avulsion (SRA) injury produces alterations in blood flow that contribute to avulsion injury induced pain-like behaviour in rodents. Photoplethysmography (PPG) is an established way of assessing blood flow in the central nervous system (CNS)...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Somatosensory & motor research 2015-07, Vol.32 (3), p.158-162
Main Authors: Cibert-Goton, Vincent, Phillips, Justin P., Shortland, Peter J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis of Variance
Animals
Avulsion
Disease Models, Animal
doppler flowmetry
Functional Laterality
ischemia
Laser-Doppler Flowmetry
Male
pain
Photoplethysmography
Radiculopathy - pathology
Rats
Rats, Wistar
Rec A Recombinases - metabolism
spinal cord
Spinal Cord - blood supply
Spinal Cord - pathology
Spinal Nerve Roots - injuries
Time Factors
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper has investigated the hypothesis that spinal root avulsion (SRA) injury produces alterations in blood flow that contribute to avulsion injury induced pain-like behaviour in rodents. Photoplethysmography (PPG) is an established way of assessing blood flow in the central nervous system (CNS) and laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) is the most widely used technique for measuring tissue perfusion. Using an established model of SRA injury that produces mechanical hypersensitivity, the PPG and LDF signals were recorded in animals 2 weeks post-injury and compared to naive recordings. PPG and LDF measurements were assessed on the ipsilateral and contralateral sides of the spinal cord rostral and caudal to the avulsion injury and at the level of the injury. Two weeks after injury, a time when vascular blood vessel endothelial markers are known to be decreased, no significant changes were seen in the spinal cord blood flow (SCBF) above, at, or below the injury site or when comparing the ipsilateral vs. contralateral side. Assessment of oxygenation levels again revealed no significant differences between naive and spinal root injured animals along the rostrocaudal axis (i.e., above, at, and below the site of injury or its equivalent on the contralateral side). From these experiments it is concluded that SRA does not significantly alter blood flow or tissue oxygen levels and so ischemia may play a less prominent role in avulsion injury induced pain.
ISSN:0899-0220
1369-1651
DOI:10.3109/08990220.2015.1018511