TY - JOUR
T1 - Hypothermia effects on neuronal plasticity post spinal cord injury
AU - Al-Nashash, Hasan
AU - Wong, Ka Leung
AU - All, Angelo H.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Al-Nashash et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License,
PY - 2024/4/5
Y1 - 2024/4/5
N2 - Background SCI is a time-sensitive debilitating neurological condition without treatment options. Although the central nervous system is not programmed for effective endogenous repairs or regeneration, neuroplasticity partially compensates for the dysfunction consequences of SCI. Objective and hypothesis The purpose of our study is to investigate whether early induction of hypothermia impacts neuronal tissue compensatory mechanisms. Our hypothesis is that although neuroplasticity happens within the neuropathways, both above (forelimbs) and below (hindlimbs) the site of spinal cord injury (SCI), hypothermia further influences the upper limbs’ SSEP signals, even when the SCI is mid-thoracic. Study design A total of 30 male and female adult rats are randomly assigned to four groups (n = 7): sham group, control group undergoing only laminectomy, injury group with normothermia (37̊C), and injury group with hypothermia (32̊C +/-0.5̊C). Methods The NYU-Impactor is used to induce mid-thoracic (T8) moderate (12.5 mm) midline contusive injury in rats. Somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) is an objective and non-invasive procedure to assess the functionality of selective neuropathways. SSEP monitoring of baseline, and on days 4 and 7 post-SCI are performed. Results Statistical analysis shows that there are significant differences between the SSEP signal amplitudes recorded when stimulating either forelimb in the group of rats with normothermia compared to the rats treated with 2h of hypothermia on day 4 (left forelimb, p = 0.0417right forelimb, p = 0.0012) and on day 7 (left forelimb, p = 0.0332 and right forelimb, p = 0.0133) post-SCI. Conclusion Our results show that the forelimbs SSEP signals from the two groups of injuries with and without hypothermia have statistically significant differences on days 4 and 7. This indicates the neuroprotective effect of early hypothermia and its influences on stimulating further the neuroplasticity within the upper limbs neural network post-SCI. Timely detection of neuroplasticity and identifying the endogenous and exogenous factors have clinical applications in planning a more effective rehabilitation and functional electrical stimulation (FES) interventions in SCI patients.
AB - Background SCI is a time-sensitive debilitating neurological condition without treatment options. Although the central nervous system is not programmed for effective endogenous repairs or regeneration, neuroplasticity partially compensates for the dysfunction consequences of SCI. Objective and hypothesis The purpose of our study is to investigate whether early induction of hypothermia impacts neuronal tissue compensatory mechanisms. Our hypothesis is that although neuroplasticity happens within the neuropathways, both above (forelimbs) and below (hindlimbs) the site of spinal cord injury (SCI), hypothermia further influences the upper limbs’ SSEP signals, even when the SCI is mid-thoracic. Study design A total of 30 male and female adult rats are randomly assigned to four groups (n = 7): sham group, control group undergoing only laminectomy, injury group with normothermia (37̊C), and injury group with hypothermia (32̊C +/-0.5̊C). Methods The NYU-Impactor is used to induce mid-thoracic (T8) moderate (12.5 mm) midline contusive injury in rats. Somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) is an objective and non-invasive procedure to assess the functionality of selective neuropathways. SSEP monitoring of baseline, and on days 4 and 7 post-SCI are performed. Results Statistical analysis shows that there are significant differences between the SSEP signal amplitudes recorded when stimulating either forelimb in the group of rats with normothermia compared to the rats treated with 2h of hypothermia on day 4 (left forelimb, p = 0.0417right forelimb, p = 0.0012) and on day 7 (left forelimb, p = 0.0332 and right forelimb, p = 0.0133) post-SCI. Conclusion Our results show that the forelimbs SSEP signals from the two groups of injuries with and without hypothermia have statistically significant differences on days 4 and 7. This indicates the neuroprotective effect of early hypothermia and its influences on stimulating further the neuroplasticity within the upper limbs neural network post-SCI. Timely detection of neuroplasticity and identifying the endogenous and exogenous factors have clinical applications in planning a more effective rehabilitation and functional electrical stimulation (FES) interventions in SCI patients.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85189666607&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0301430
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0301430
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 38578715
AN - SCOPUS:85189666607
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 19
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 4
M1 - e0301430
ER -