Journal of neurotrauma
-
Journal of neurotrauma · Sep 2017
Multi-domain assessment of autonomic function in spinal cord injury using a modified autonomic reflex screen.
The aim of this study was to characterize autonomic lesions in participants with spinal cord injury (SCI; n = 10) using an autonomic reflex screen, incorporating sudomotor, cardiovagal, and sympathetic adrenergic tests, as well as hemodynamic responses to head-up tilt (HUT). Hemodynamic responses were compared to healthy controls (n = 20) and previously published normative cutoffs in order better identify autonomic impairments. Sympathetic skin responses (SSRs), heart rate response to deep breathing (HRDB), and heart rate and beat-to-beat blood pressure responses to Valsalva maneuver (VM) and HUT were measured. ⋯ Measures of cardiovagal function, including HRDB (SCI = 7.7 ± 3.8 beats/min vs. controls = 17.6 ± 8.1 beats/min) and Valsalva ratio (SCI = 1.53 ± 0.29 vs. controls = 1.85 ± 0.37), were significantly reduced in SCI participants, compared to controls (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that an autonomic reflex screen, which includes standardized testing protocol and normative data for comparison, is useful for determining the autonomic domains affected by the neurological injury in SCI. We also demonstrated significant cardiovagal impairment in SCI participants compared to controls, which warrants further investigation to determine whether cardiovagal dysfunction is associated with the negative cardiovascular outcomes, which are known to occur in SCI.
-
Journal of neurotrauma · Sep 2017
ReviewThe Impact of Mean Arterial Pressure on Functional Outcome Post-Acute Spinal Cord Injury: A Scoping Systematic Review of Animal Models.
The aim of this work was to perform a scoping systematic review on the animal literature surrounding mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and functional outcomes post-acute spinal cord injury (ASCI). We performed a systematic review of the literature by searching: MEDLINE, BIOSIS, EMBASE, Global Health, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Library from inception to January 2015. We also performed a hand search of various published meeting proceedings. ⋯ Two studies displayed worse functional outcomes secondary to episodes of hypotension. Four studies failed to demonstrate a relationship between MAP and functional outcome within the animal models. This review concludes that, within the animal literature, there is insufficient evidence to draw a conclusion about the effect of MAP on neurological outcome in animal models of ASCI.
-
Journal of neurotrauma · Sep 2017
CHARACTERIZATION OF MOTOR AND SOMATOSENSORY EVOKED POTENTIALS IN THE YUCATAN MICROPIG USING TRANSCRANIAL AND EPIDURAL STIMULATION.
Yucatan micropigs have brain and spinal cord dimensions similar to humans and are useful for certain spinal cord injury (SCI) translational studies. Micropigs are readily trained in behavioral tasks, allowing consistent testing of locomotor loss and recovery. However, there has been little description of their motor and sensory pathway neurophysiology. ⋯ Autopsy studies revealed substantial variations in cortical morphology between animals. This electrophysiological study establishes that neurophysiological measures can be reliably obtained in micropigs in a time frame compatible with other experimental procedures, such as SCI and transplantation. It underscores the need to better understand the motor control pathways, including the corticospinal tract, to determine which therapeutics are suitable for testing in the pig model.
-
Journal of neurotrauma · Sep 2017
The ketone metabolite β-hydroxybutyrate attenuates oxidative stress in spinal cord injury by suppression of class I histone deacetylases.
The ketone metabolite β-hydroxybutyrate (βOHB), is reported to be neuroprotective after spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. The present study aims to investigate effects of βOHB on suppression of oxidative stress and inhibition of class I histone deacetylases (HDACs) in in vivo and in vitro models. Rats were fed with ketogenic diet (KD) or standard diet (SD) for 3 weeks. ⋯ Depletion of HDAC1 or HDAC2 with small interfering RNA (siRNA) attenuated H2O2-induced ROS production and protein carbonylation and elevated FOXO3a protein levels, meanwhile reducing NOX2 and NOX4 protein expression in PC12 cells. Our results indicate that the ketone metabolite βOHB attenuates oxidative stress in SCI by inhibition of class I HDACs, and selected suppression of HDAC1 or HDAC2 regulates FOXO3a, NOX2, and NOX4 expression. Therefore, the ketone metabolite βOHB may be a novel promising therapeutic agent for SCI.
-
Journal of neurotrauma · Sep 2017
N-Palmitoylethanolamine-oxazoline (PEA-OXA) as a new therapeutic strategy to control neuroinflammation: neuroprotective effects in experimental models of spinal cord and brain injury.
Modulation of N-acylethanolamine-hydrolyzing acid amidase (NAAA) represents a potential alternative strategy in the treatment of neuroinflammation. Recent studies showed that pharmacological modulation of NAAA could be achieved with the oxazoline of palmitoylethanolamide (PEA; PEA-OXA). The aim of this study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of PEA-OXA in the secondary neuroinflammatory events induced by spinal and brain trauma in mice. ⋯ In addition, the expression of neurotrophic factors, such as glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and neurotrophin-3 were increased by PEA-OXA treatment. Moreover, PEA-OXA also significantly decreased glial fibrillary acidic protein hyperexpression, the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB, phosphorylation of Ser536 on the NF-κB subunit p65, and degradation of IκB-α, as well as diminished the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β. The modulation of intracellular NAAA by PEA-OXA treatment could thus represent a novel therapy to control neuroinflammatory conditions associated with SCI and TBI.