The effect of hypothermia on sensory-motor function and tissue sparing after spinal cord injury

Background contextIn recent years, hypothermia has been described as a therapeutic approach that leads to potential protective effects via minimization of secondary damage consequences, reduction of neurologic deficit, and increase of motor performance after spinal cord injury (SCI) in animal models and humans.PurposeThe objective of this study was to determine the therapeutic efficacy of hypothermia treatment on sensory-motor function and bladder activity outcome correlated with the white and gray matter sparing and neuronal survival after SCI in adult rats.Study designA standardized animal model of compression SCI was used to test the hypothesis that hypothermia could have a neuroprotective effect on neural cell death and loss of white and/or gray matter.MethodsAnimals underwent spinal cord compression injury at the Th8–Th9 level followed by systemic hypothermia of 32.0°C with gradual re-warming to 37.0°C. Motor function of hind limbs (BBB score) and mechanical allodynia (von Frey hair filaments) together with function of urinary bladder was monitored in all experimental animals throughout the whole survival period.ResultsPresent results showed that hypothermia had beneficial effects on urinary bladder activity and on locomotor function recovery at Days 7 and 14 post-injury. Furthermore, significant increase of NeuN-positive neuron survival within dorsal and ventral horns at Days 7, 14, and 21 were documented.ConclusionsOur conclusions suggest that hypothermia treatment may not only promote survival of neurons, which can have a significant impact on the improvement of motor and vegetative functions, but also induce mechanical allodynia.