| dc.description.abstract | Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are often the result of traumatic accidents resulting in polytrauma. Pain input from associated injuries has been shown to negatively impair locomotor recovery and foster the development of neuropathic pain. In these studies, rats receiving uncontrollable nociceptive stimulation twenty-four hours after SCI show impaired locomotor recovery, increased cell death, and increased lesion volume. Historically, this research has focused exclusively on male animals. However, with more females sustaining spinal cord injuries, it is important to determine whether females are at risk of developing similar detrimental effects in response to pain input. This was examined using female rats given a moderate contusion at T12. The next day, animals were treated with one of two pain models. Animals received either six minutes of variable intermittent shock (VIS) to the tail or nothing, or an intradermal injection of capsaicin (3%) or vehicle. Locomotor recovery was assessed using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) method, and scores were evaluated each day for the first week following injury, then on day 10 and once a week after. Further locomotor recovery was assessed on day 28 with additional behavioral tests (beam and ladder, girdle, von Frey filament testing). Animals were then sacrificed and perfused, and the spinal cord collected for histological analysis. Only animals that received shock showed a significant detriment to locomotor recovery when assessed using the BBB method. Capsaicin treatment did not affect long-term recovery, suggesting that the effect of pain input on secondary injury is variably affected by sex. | |
