Study design

prospective case series of Yucatan miniature pig spinal cord contusion injury model with comparison to human cases of spinal cord injury (SCI).

Objectives

to describe magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of spinal cord lesion severity along with estimates of lateral corticospinal tracts spared neural tissue in both a less severe and more severe contusion SCI model, as well as to describe their corresponding behavioral outcome changes.

Setting

University laboratory setting.

Methods

Following a more severe and less severe SCI, each pig underwent spinal cord MRI to measure lesion characteristics, along with locomotor and urodynamics outcomes testing.

Results

In the pig with more severe SCI, locomotor and urodynamic outcomes were poor, and both the spinal cord lesion volume and damage estimates to the lateral corticospinal tracts were large. Conversely, in the pig with less severe SCI, locomotor and urodynamic outcomes were favorable, with the spinal cord lesion volume and damage estimates to the lateral corticospinal tracts being less pronounced. For two human cases matched on estimates of damage to the lateral corticospinal tract regions, the clinical presentations were similar to the pig outcomes, with more limited mobility and more limited bladder functional independence in the more severe case. Conclusions: Our initial findings contribute valuable insights to the emergent field of MRI-based evaluation of spinal cord lesions in pig models, offering a promising avenue for understanding and potentially improving outcomes in spinal cord injuries.

中文翻译：

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脊髓损伤小型猪模型的脊髓损伤 MRI 和行为结果：通过与人类 SCI 的临时比较探索临床前潜力

 学习规划

尤卡坦小型猪脊髓挫伤模型的前瞻性病例系列与人类脊髓损伤（SCI）病例的比较。

 目标

描述脊髓损伤严重程度的磁共振成像 (MRI) 测量，以及在不太严重和更严重的挫伤 SCI 模型中对外侧皮质脊髓束幸存神经组织的估计，并描述其相应的行为结果变化。

 环境

大学实验室设置。

 方法

在更严重和不太严重的 SCI 后，每头猪都接受了脊髓 MRI 以测量病变特征，以及运动和尿动力学结果测试。

 结果

在脊髓损伤较严重的猪中，运动和尿动力学结果很差，脊髓病变体积和外侧皮质脊髓束的损伤估计都很大。相反，在 SCI 不太严重的猪中，运动和尿动力学结果良好，脊髓病变体积和外侧皮质脊髓束的损伤估计不太明显。对于两个与外侧皮质脊髓束区域损伤估计相匹配的人类病例，临床表现与猪的结果相似，在更严重的病例中，活动能力更有限，膀胱功能独立性更有限。结论：我们的初步研究结果为基于 MRI 的猪模型脊髓损伤评估新兴领域提供了宝贵的见解，为理解和潜在改善脊髓损伤的结果提供了一条有希望的途径。