Serotonergic response to spinal distraction trauma in experimental scoliosis

The effects of distraction injury to the spinal cord on serotonin (5HT) content and metabolism in a rat model of scoliosis were studied. Previous studies in this laboratory (Salzman et al., 1987a) have identified the 5HT response as a major component of the posttraumatic progression of spinal injury after impact trauma in the rabbit. The present study was designed to determine the universality of this response by examining a different model of injury in a different species. The results demonstrate that distraction trauma in the rat, like impact injury in the rabbit, is associated with a rapid and robust increase in the local spinal cord content and metabolism of 5HT and a long-term depletion of 5HT below the site of injury. The roles of the blood platelet and the raphe-spinal tract in the acute response and the disruption of axoplasmic transport during the chronic phase of injury are discussed.