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Review
. 2018 Summer;24(3):195-205.
doi: 10.1310/sci2403-195.

Translational Challenges of Rat Models of Upper Extremity Dysfunction After Spinal Cord Injury

Laura Krisa  1   2 , Madeline Runyen  1 , Megan Ryan Detloff  3
Affiliations
Review

Translational Challenges of Rat Models of Upper Extremity Dysfunction After Spinal Cord Injury

Laura Krisa et al. Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil. 2018 Summer.

Abstract

There are approximately 17,500 new spinal cord injury (SCI) cases each year in the United States, with the majority of cases resulting from a traumatic injury. Damage to the spinal cord causes either temporary or permanent changes in sensorimotor function. Given that the majority of human SCIs occur in the cervical spinal level, the experimental animal models of forelimb dysfunction play a large role in the ability to translate basic science research to clinical application. However, the variation in the design of clinical and basic science studies of forelimb/upper extremity (UE) function prevents the ease of translation. This review provides an overview of experimental models of forelimb dysfunction used in SCI research with special emphasis on the rat model of SCI. The anatomical location and types of experimental cervical lesions, functional assessments, and rehabilitation strategies used in the basic science laboratory are reviewed. Finally, we discuss the challenges of translating animal models of forelimb dysfunction to the clinical SCI human population.

Keywords: animal models; forelimb; functional recovery; upper extremity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Supported by grants from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation (#457508 MRD) and the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (#NS97880 MRD). We certify that no party having a direct interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on us or on any organization with which we are associated and, if applicable, we certify that all financial and material support for this research (eg, NIH or NHS grants) and work are clearly identified.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Schematic of sensory dermatomes in rat and human. Forelimb and upper extremity dermatomes are conserved in rat and human. Transmission of somatosensory information from the periphery is transmitted to similar spinal cord levels in rats and humans.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Schematic of spinal cord tracts in the rat and human that would directly or indirectly innervate the left forelimb or upper extremity, respectively. Note that dorsal spinocerebellar tract ascends in the ipsilateral white matter, while the ventral spinocerebellar tract ascends in the contralateral white matter of both species. The locations of the corticospinal tracts are markedly different between rats and humans. Both species have a lateral and ventral corticospinal tract, b u t the rat also has a dorsal corticospinal tract at the base of the dorsal columns.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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