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72. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie (DGNC)
Joint Meeting mit der Polnischen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie (DGNC) e. V.

06.06. - 09.06.2021

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Use of the CatWalk XT® gait analysis to assess functional recovery after severe cervical spinal cord injury in rats

Nutzen der CatWalk XT® Ganganalyse zur Beurteilung der funktionellen Erholung nach schwerer zervikaler Rückenmarksverletzung im Rattenmodell

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  • presenting/speaker Guoli Zheng - Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Neurochirurgie, Heidelberg, Deutschland
  • Alexander Younsi - Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Neurochirurgie, Heidelberg, Deutschland
  • Moritz Scherer - Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Neurochirurgie, Heidelberg, Deutschland
  • Lennart Riemann - Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Neurochirurgie, Heidelberg, Deutschland
  • Johannes Walter - Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Neurochirurgie, Heidelberg, Deutschland
  • Thomas Skutella - Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg, Department of Neuroanatomy, Heidelberg, Deutschland
  • Klaus Zweckberger - Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Neurochirurgie, Heidelberg, Deutschland

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie. 72. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie (DGNC), Joint Meeting mit der Polnischen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie. sine loco [digital], 06.-09.06.2021. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2021. DocV032

doi: 10.3205/21dgnc034, urn:nbn:de:0183-21dgnc0346

Published: June 4, 2021

© 2021 Zheng et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Outline

Text

Objective: Objective and consistent assessment of gait and motor function remains challenging in rodent spinal cord injury (SCI) models. Therefore, we studied the validity and relevance of the CatWalk XT® gait analysis as an automated method for outcome assessment in a clinically relevant cervical SCI model in rats.

Methods: 20 Wistar rats were randomly assigned to either a C6 clip compression/contusion SCI (SCI group) or a sham laminectomy (Sham group). Locomotion recovery was assessed weekly using the BBB open field score and the CatWalk XT® gait analysis. At the end of the experiment, six weeks after SCI, the percentage of preserved spinal cord tissue was measured by GFAP immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. Linear regression analyses were performed to assess the BBB open field score’s and the percentage of preserved tissue’s correlation with 30 different CatWalk XT® parameters (R2 values are presented).

Results: The compression/contusion injury caused a bilateral and significant functional impairment in all CatWalk XT® parameters in the SCI group. Over the course of the experiment, a significant level of spontaneous recovery compared to the first postinjury measurement was observed in most of the CatWalk XT® parameters and the BBB open field score. Histologically, the overall percentage of preserved tissue within +/- 1200 μm of the lesion epicenter was 60.42 ± 2.82%. Correlation analysis of the hindlimb CatWalk XT® parameters, including regularity index, stride length, print area, max contact area, and body speed with the BBB open field score yielded relatively high R2 values (> 0.6) in 53%. Moreover, an even better correlation of the CatWalk XT® parameters of both the forelimbs and the hindlimbs with the percentage of preserved tissue could be observed (83% of R2 values > 0.6).

Conclusion: The CatWalk XT® system is an objective and consistent tool for assessing the impairment and recovery of locomotor function after cervical contusion/compression SCI in rats, showing a good correlation with the classic behavioral scaling system of the BBB open field score, and more importantly also with the percentage of preserved spinal cord tissue.