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Updated: Jun 19, 2026
Thoracic Spinal Cord Hemisection Surgery and Open-Field Locomotor Assessment in the Rat
Published on: June 26, 2019
[Effect of ultra-early hyperbaric oxygenation on spinal edema and hind limb motor function in rats with complete
Min Liu1, Xian-ping Wu, Min Tong
1Department of Rehabilitation, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, China. 13308407768@189.cn
Objective:
To evaluate the effect of ultra-early hyperbaric oxygenation on spinal edema and hind limb motor function in rats with complete spinal cord transection.
Methods:
Fifty-five healthy 3-month-old female SD rats were randomly divided into sham-operated group (n=15), complete spinal cord transection group (CSCT group, n=20) and hyperbaric oxygen group (HBO group, n=20). The rats in the sham-operated group underwent only laminectomy, while those in the other 2 groups underwent CSCT at the T10 level. The rats in HBO group were placed in an oxygen chamber 3 h after the operation for 10 days as a treatment course, and 3 treatment courses were administered at the interval of 6 days. In the first treatment course, 2 hyperbaric oxygenation sessions were given daily, and in the following 2 course, only 1 session was given daily. The recovery of hindlimb motor function was evaluated using the open-field Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) scoring system once a week for 6 weeks. All the rats were sacrificed 6 weeks after the operation to measure the water content in the injured tissues.
Results:
The BBB scores of CSCT group and HBO group gradually increased with the passage of time after the operation, and from week 2 to week 6, HBO group had significantly higher scores than CSCT group (P<0.05). The water content was markedly increased in CSCT group at 6 weeks after the operation as compared with that in the sham-operated group (P<0.01), and significantly reduced in HBO group in comparison with that in the CSCT group (P<0.05).
Conclusion:
Ultra-early HBO can suppress spinal cord edema and promote hindlimb locomotor recovery in rats with complete spinal cord transection.
